LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

... 
Shelf. S 4 & 

I UNITED STATES CF AMERICA. 



PRACTICAL ELOCUTION; 



FOB USE IN 



f OLLEQE£ AND £cHOOL£ 



PRIVATE STUDENTS. 



/ BY 

J. W. SHOEMAKER, A.M., 

/ I President of the National School of Elocution and Oratory,, 



We could not allow him an orator who had the best thoughts, 
and who knew all the rules of rhetoric, if he had not acquired 
the art of using them. — Dryden. 




PHILADELPHIA: 
J. W. SHOEMAKER AND COMPANY, 

1418 Chestnut Street. 

1878. 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878, by 

J. W. SHOEMAKER, 

in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



culbertson & bache, printers, 

727 Jayne Street. 

Philad'a. 



,cr fit* Itutote 



NATIONAL SCHOOL OF ELOCUTION AND ORATORY, 

TO WHOSE 

Enthusiasm, Faithfulness and Loyalty 

THE AUTHOR IS INDEBTED FOR SO MUCH STRENGTH AND 
INSPIRATION IN HIS WORK, 

AND WHOSE MEMORY HE CHERISHES WITH 
NEXT TO A PARENT'S LOVE, 

THIS BOOK 

IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED. 



PREFACE. 



The study of Elocution and Oratory was pursued to a very 
high degree by the ancients, and is therefore an old study. 
It was, however, so nearly lost as a distinctive branch of cul- 
ture, and it received so little attention for many succeeding 
centuries that it may be very justly termed a modern science. 

It was the original design of the author to prepare for the 
use of the National School of Elocution and Orator} r , an 
outline of principles embodying his system of instruction, 
and to furnish the students of the institution a text for their 
future personal or public work. The rapidly increasing de- 
mand, however, for a more extended exposition of these 
principles, and for a copious collection of appropriate exer- 
cises, together with the urgent request of many students 
and educators throughout the country, has led to the pub- 
lication of " Practical Elocution." 

Now that the work has been completed, and is about to go 
forth on its mission, we are led to realize more deeply than 
ever how little of the spirit can go along with the letter — how 
little of the inspiration which the true teacher should impart, 
can accompany the monotonous lines of the printed page. 
We do not believe any theory can substitute for the living 

is 



X PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

presence of the teacher. The theory of Elocution can no 
more produce good readers and speakers than the theory of 
music will make good singers or experts on the instrument; 
yet correct principles may so direct the student away from 
error, and towards the truth, and may furnish to the teacher 
such resources in methods and exercises as would require 
years of time to arrange for himself. 

Elocution will not substitute for intellect; neither will it 
furnish material for the mind any more than gold will buy 
material. It will not provide thought. It will not even pro- 
vide vehicles or words, so necessary to the discussion and 
exchange of thought. Its work is to give principles and 
direction for the management of thought after it has been 
furnished and clothed. Knowledge is capital, only valuable 
as it is available, and Elocution is the great natural means 
of rendering knowledge available. 

Spoken language may be said to bear three distinct relations to 
the signification of the words which enter into it. 

First. — A sentiment may be so uttered as to weaken or 
pervert the simple meaning of the words. Wanting in the 
necessary force, emphasis misplaced, or modulation disre- 
garded, the words, though possessing volumes of thought, 
may be rendered almost void of meaning. 

Second. — The sentiment may be so spoken as to leave its 
plain meaning unaffected, neither adding to or taking from 
the mere signification of the words. The listener, hearing, 
and being familiar with the words, obtains an intellectual 
knowledge of the thought expressed. He is impressed with 
the words only to the degree that he is interested in the 
thought. There is nothing in the presentation to attract his 
attention, or that will awaken interest within him. Had he 
seen the words in the skeleton forms of written language, the 
effect would have been the same. They have been presented 
to bis sense alone. 

Third. — The same sentiment may be spoken so that it shall 
not only express the idea indicated, but that it shall impress 
that idea upon the mind and heart. Under this character of 



PREFACE. XI 

utterance we supplement the form of words with their power, 
investing the mere passive clay with the life-giving principle 
which shall send it forth an active, aggressive influence. 

This we believe to be the original and legitimate design of 
speech. It could not have been the purpose of the Creator 
that this marvellous faculty should perform the service of a 
mere dead machine. Correct, cultivated utterance gives 
emphasis and spiritual effect to written language. 

In the following pages the attention of teacher and student 
has been directed prominently to the study of natural speech 
as revealed by Conversation. It is believed that we may here 
find nature most true, however crude, and that we may obtain 
from her, models and inspiration for the more exalted con- 
ditions of speech. Spoken language finds its original and 
simplest forms in conversation. 

The conditions of mind and body in ordinary conversation 
are best adapted for the study of our own individuality. We 
cannot study self when on exhibition. "We dress up for 
strangers. We spend much time and means to prepare our 
bodies for distinguished company, not always with the most 
happy effect. Sometimes it results in such a perversion of 
our natural appearance as to give offence rather than 
pleasure. So, in the expression of our thoughts, voice and 
manner are modified by the presence of the multitude, and 
sometimes, upon great occasions, they are so perverted as to 
lose all that is natural and impressive. Thus thousands fail 
of their just merit in presenting themselves to strangers. In 
the effort to be natural they become unnatural. In their 
attempt to represent themselves for what they are not, they 
fail to receive value for what they are. Nature may be 
pruned, cultured and directed, but we cannot substitute it. 
I will always be stronger as myself than I can be as any 
one else, and as we represent ourselves most through our 
words, we should in our words be most true to ourselves. 
We should study ourselves and seek our examples from that 
condition where true nature is least modified. This condi- 
tion we believe to be that of conversation with our intimate 



Xll PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

friends. Conversation may be most faulty and corrupt, yet 
we will find in it a harmony with our own natures, and con- 
stantly recurring lights and shades of natural expression that 
may serve as models for study and imitation, such as we can 
find nowhere else in the whole range of utterance. But it is 
not sufficient to find the germs. They must have growth 
and maturity. The work of culture and development pre- 
cedes the efficient use of all our faculties. Man, in the crea- 
tion of his own being, is made a partfner with God. We are 
co-workers with God in self-construction. He gives us the 
plastic material, with directions or laws for its use, condi- 
tioning the result of the work upon the application of those 
laws. 

It is better to develop our own faculties, though inferior, 
rather than to attempt to appropriate another's. Our own 
will serves us better, because designed for us by the Creator, 
and hence in harmony with our being. God will hold us 
responsible for the talents He has given us. He does not 
ask that we buy or borrow, but demands increase through 
culture and development. The expression of thought and 
feeling, therefore, should be in the simplest and purest har- 
mony with the elements of our individual nature. But how 
to find our true nature may prove our most difficult task. 
We have been so misdirected that there has grown upon us 
by observation and contamination, such a coating of man- 
ners and habits foreign to the original, and we have acted so 
long in sympathy with this accumulated surface that we may 
hardly recognize our true selves. We have so long followed 
the untrue that we may hardly know the true. We have so 
long associated with this outer that we fail to comprehend 
the inner. . Habit has become so fixed as to constitute a second 
nature, and close analysis becomes necessary that we may 
draw the lines between our own nature and this accumulated 
or borrowed nature. Our first work, then, is to distinguish 
the true from the false, the original from the borrowed, 
nature from habit, that we may develop, each in himself, the 
original creation, rather than the warped and distorted crea- 
tion of our own hands. 



PREFACE. Xlll 

The author would here make grateful acknowledgment of 
the assistance he has received in the preparation of this 
work by those directly associated with him in the Institution 
over which he presides. Mrs. Shoemaker, Prof. J. H. Bechtel, 
and Prof. R. 0. Moon, have furnished him the fruit of their 
investigations in the several departments which they repre- 
sent, and are worthy of more prominent mention than he 
can here afford them. He does not forget the many friends 
to whom he i3 indebted for suggestive help, for counsel, 
and for encouragement. 

That " Practical Elocution " may contribute, in some 
degree, to the elevation of a noble art, has been the aim, 
and remains the earnest hope of the author. 

J. W. S. 

Philadelphia, September 2d, 1878. 



Explanatory Note.— The reference to the several numbers of the Elocu- 
tionist's Annual for additional examples, has been made for the advantage of 
students and others who may use that series in connection with this volume. 



'CONTENTS. 



Introduction, ...... 

Outline of Elocution and Analysis of Principles (Diagram), 

Explanation of the Outline, .... 
Definition, ..... 

Importance, ..... 

Iii Physical Development, 

In Social Life, .... 

In Business Life, .... 

In Public Life, .... 

CONVERSATION. 

ITor its own sake, .... 

Examples, ..... 

In its relation to Reading, 
In its relation to Public Address, . . 

PRINCIPLES. 



Speeeh, 
Voice, 

Philosophy of Voice, 
Utterance, . : 

Development, . . 

Breathing, . • 

Exercises, 
Vocal Exe.-iises, 

Table of Voc*l Exercises, 
Examples, 
Gymnastics, 

Exercises, . 

Quality, 
Pure, 
Simple Pure, , 

Examples, . 

Orotund, ; . 

Examples . 

Impure, , . 

Pectoral, . . 

Examples, . . 



• • 



S2 



•For full Alphabetical Judex, see page 195. 



XV 



XVI 



CONTENTS. 



Guttural, . . 

Examples, 
Aspirated, 

Examples, 
Falsetto, 

Examples, 
Articulation, 

Classification, 

Table of Elementary Sounds 

Exercises, 
Expression, 
Modulation, 

Quality, . . 

Pitch, 

Examples, , 

Force, 

Examples, 
Time, 

Rate, 

Examples, , 

Quantity, 

Examples, 

Pause, 

Examples, • 

Slides, 

Examples, 
Gesture, . „ 

Position, 
Movements of the Body, 

Examples, 
Facial Expression, 

Examples, 

METHODS OF 

Theory, 

Outline of Methods, 
Primary, 
Advanced, 
Appendix, 

Miscellaneous Suggestions, 

Emphasis, 

Miscellaneous Vocal Exercises, 

Laughter, 

Bible Reading, 

Sound to Sense, 

Transition, 

Analysis, . 5 

Repose, 



64 



INSTRUCTION. 



INTRODUCTION, 



Elocution, from eloqui, to speak out, to express, 
(e, out; and loqui, to speak,) as now applied, 
contemplates the whole art of conveying thought 
through the organs of the body. 

Before entering directly upon the study of this 
subject, we may receive a worthy inspiration in con- 
sidering the broad and abundant opportunity which 
opens to us. Elocution concerns the commerce of.\ 
mind and soul. As such, it involves the capability on 
the part of the student to comprehend, to appreciate, 
and to communicate thought and emotion. To this 
end, he needs the best of all his powers. It is only the 
voice that has reached its best, and the eye that 
beams from the soul, and the hand of grace, and the 
attitude of manhood and womanhood, that can convey 
the immortality which has been breathed upon us. 

By sin these powers have been enfeebled and 
deformed and under its buruon their deformity 
increases. Guarded and regulated by the laws of 
our creation, they may be rescued and made poten- 
tial in conveying the very mind of the Creator. 

17 



.sP 



g- 



flag's 
IS ie 



&>? 



.5 a 

P< £ P5 Pn 

a a a a 

H M M N 



s s 



iicsi 



Ph Ph 



M PS 



r? A A 
H H M 



eg 

3 O 

SsqO 



"5.3 

SO 






PhO<1Pm 



bo a; .a 



tfc^ 



« c3 O 

■ss-s 



I! 






£ 



.•a 
M 

Pn<t! 



^ fM 



■jsconLiiooTia: 



g 

13 

H 
O 

w 

E 

H 

O 

O 

< 
< 

X 
W 



o © 



8 ||1 

-fl "S O =« 

.3 ©2,2 

i if* 



© © 

© m m 

p --. cS 

iS © 



a, i-c 

rt CO 

© cu 
3 X 

|« 

_oj O 

ft^T 
cS 3 



a a 



.5 2- ? 
S^ggS 

© =~ «r c s 

flog ©S 

+i to 00 

«« g 3 „ .8 

!©8go 

° 2 ;R -* < 

« X> ^-r2 " ^ 

£ 5 v, cu ©7 
..■-to — <*> s 

C" O ~ « ! 

1^©"S-^ 



■si 



t3 <o" 

a j 

.2 « 



-dC 



3 O 



©^ 



r fl 



1 t 



° 2 



3 3 8S£^--fl 
£;>£-£© £5 © 

'"^©®3©o©' fl 
©-3.3 £.3 Si © 

> o £ < a 



©> 
*■« *. 

33 

3 >< 

Is 

o ^ 
On 



K ij a .- * « 



^- f3 to 



~ © © *s 

a © .2 

| £ ft '2 

a " a o 

-g 1 ° ^ 

© © « "S 

&g § § 

rd tepq °_ 

© a >z" 

8 3a I 

S m B OT 



bog 



c a 

o'% © 



s ^ o 

fe © V 



s o 



5f^ 



«2a hi 
h B £ 2 

a s| . § 



© ft 
• ^ d 



5-12 



-S en 
3 



J3 ^ © 



OS 

Q © &! 

O 52 
Eh .S§ 

a la 

© H 
> O 



ft .2 J 



© 'S 03 . 

ftO.23 h 

CI 3 p, H 

3 +a -^ P=l 

Sb.2^»S 

T! S to g m 



,3 ft 



1^ 

Is 

© 3 



« H g 



en rt ft 



© 3 

3 •'- .- e « 

S ©^ s-g 

g°2_©^ 
2b© t>c"3 



^ e 2 
II <^'^ H 
I^S O 

©^3- « 

Sa|8 Eh 

jsSgS « 
^^8>. O 

§U-° Ph 

« X c © H 

© .2 © c3 

C-2J c3 
•^ 3 j-j a, 

3 2" fl 

to ~ a o* 
•2S'5© 
52 S3 

W 2-S^ 
.S o 



3 ©^ 

©ti © ,o 

2 = =^ 

2 a * S 

g © ftg 

© ♦- 3 « 



© a g 
C s rt 

8,2 <* 
« > © 

3 © © 

8^8 



— ■ O 



stes . 

o > i (j. .2 



M-3 ^ © 

J fl fl tl »1 
M . rt O .^ 3 



_ o 
1 c ^i eh 

•- 1 g 2 © p5 

e-g ©*i h 

fill 

w 3'o^~ 
« o »-" 

1-1 'i © I 

i£3© 

-r fttJ 

o' J Sg 



©•g.2 



3 > 
3-S 3 
o © © 

3 ©U 

cS 3. 



6 ®g 



© ft2 

III 



< 
3 C ^ 

5 ES 

•3 £S 

© ^ o 

ft 5 
m 2 © 

O <-• 
■v» co r3 

I u 

g o 2 
g *i^5 

2 ^| 



S 2 



M P ft 



© 

5 CO 



© 5. »*. 

^©^ 

to c: ^ 

© a ^ 

5-3 » 

- «s 

3 e3"~ 
O <o 

m 3 ?> 

© c3 2 



3 
&4 



m .©• 
■3 fl-S 



c - © 2? 



- ^ 

a © 

a o; 

"O on 
© 

a 's 



II 



aSH 



p-^5 ft 

O a >-i 



© H 

© 04 

PI 0Q 



20 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 



DEFINITION. 



] Elocution relates to manner or style in speaking. 
\ Good Elocution consists in the natural expression 
of thought by speech and gesture. 

Note 1. Natural must be understood as applying to our 
highest or God-nature, and should be carefully distinguished 
from habit or second nature. 

Note 2. The term expression is strengthened, if understood 
to include conveyance or passage, as of a body from one 
place to another. 

Note 3. Thought has here its broadest application, and 
signifies feeling and passion as well as sentiment. We should 
convey not only the idea contained in the thought, we should 
also convey the impression made upon us by the thought. 

Note 4. Speech covers every intelligent use of the organs 
of speech, articulate and inarticulate, whispered and vocal. 

Note 5. Gesture concerns position and facial expression, 
as well as movements of the body. 

Note 6. Thus it will be seen that correct elocutionary 
training is the subordination of the entire physical being to 
the service of mind and spirit, thought being the product of 
the inner or spiritual man, and speech and gesture its natural 
outlet through the exterior or physical man. 



IMPORTANCE. 21 



IMPORTANCE. 



IN PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT. 

Elocution calls into play the most vital organs of the 
human body, the correct use of the voice constituting an 
important source of grace and strength to these organs. 

It will demand correct posture and proper habits of res- 
piration ; it will afford healthful exercise to the throat and 
lungs ; it will bring the intercostal muscles into vigorous 
action ; it will give natural stimulant to the circulation, so 
that the organs of digestion and the entire physical system 
participate in the benefit. 

It is justly claimed that no other exercise will call forth 
so natural and uniform an action of the whole system, as the 
proper exercise of the voice. 

IN SOCIAL LIFE. 

It is in social life that we mould character, and exert the 
most lasting influences. These influences are exerted through 
word and deed. Word and deed receive their character, in 
a great degree, through voice and manner. We will, there- 
fore, render our influence agreeable and effective, largely 
in proportion as the voice and manner are pleasing and 
attractive. 

Temperament, disposition and motive will be measured 
by their outward expression. If this expression is coarse, 
abrupt, and unattractive, the inner life will be exposed to a 
corresponding verdict ; and in proportion as this expression 
becomes natural and refined will the verdict be changed. 



22 



PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 



Oar happiness and usefulness, therefore, in the social rela- 
tions must depend greatly upon the culture of these qualities. 

It is further important, because our social relations include 
our best friends, and they should receive from us the best we 
have, and in our best manner. 

IN BUSINESS LIFE. 

Other things being equal, a man will succeed in business 
largely as he can address himself upon his wares, be they 
mechanical, physical, mental or moral. 

He will succeed through the capability of winning atten- 
tion to his business. 

The same power which gives influence in the social sphere, 
will attract to our business operations. 

Character of tone and dignity of manner will reflect re- 
liability upon our vocation or profession. 

IN PUBLIC LIFE. 

It will enable us to give accuracy and fulness of meaning 
to our words, and to convey the spirit of the thought to the 
hearer. 

Words are but the dead forms of thought. The human 
voice may breathe into them the breath of life and make 
them living influences. 

Elocution will give that culture by which we may please 
the eye and the ear, so that our words shall be presented 
favorably to the judgment. It will also add that force and 
dignity to expression, and that confidence of manner which 
will command the multitude. 

A single sentence may be the exponent of years of study 
and experience, and it is possible only by the most careful 
practice in the art of expression to pronounce such a sen- 
tence with corresponding effect. 



COHVEBSATION. 23 



CONVERSATION. 



Conversation is the simplest and most common form of 
human expression. 

It contains the germs of all speech and action, and therefore 
constitutes the basis of oratorical and dramatic delivery. We 
exercise these germs of speech and action most in conver- 
sation; it is therefore natural that we should here form our 
most permanent habits of expression. 

These habits will control, not only our conversation, but, as 
hereafter shown, they will, in a great degree, affect our 
reading and public address. 

The importance, therefore, of acquiring in the common 
intercourse of life, correct habits of voice and manner cannot 
be overestimated. Hence, the consideration, first, of 



CONVERSATION FOR ITS OWN SAKE. 

No higher art is possible to man than the art of transmit- 
ting, naturally and effectively, in common intercourse, the 
sentiments and feelings of which he is capable. 

This art includes chaste and appropriate language, and 
grace and variety of manner, as well as the purity and adap- 
tation of speech. It is, however, only the latter phase of the 



24 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

subject that will concern us in this treatment, namely, correct 
speech. To this end, the student should secure the criticism 
of the ear upon his own and others' Conversation, by atten- 
tion — 

a. TO THE VOICE. 

b. TO THE ARTICULATION. 
C TO THE EXPRESSION. 

Voice. — The Voice should be natural, pure, and full. 

Note. — The long vowel sounds, marked "Naturally," as given in the table 
of "Vocal Exercises,'' and such Conversational Sentences as are here given, 
should be carefully practiced. 

Articulation. — The Articulation should be correct and distinct. 

Note. — Master the table of Elementary Sounds and practice the various 
accompanying exercises. 

Expression. — The Expression should be adapted to the senti- 
ment. 

Note.— The intelligent student will readily discover some of the leading 
relations of sound to sense; such, for instance, as that of gayety, solemnity, 
pathos, &c. Attention to these in practice, will lead to the discovery of other 
and closer relations, until every sentiment will suggest, promptly, its corres- 
ponding tone. 

Summary. — Voice, Articulation, and Expression, as here 
denned, may be termed the a, b, c of speech. 



SUGGESTION TO STUDENTS. 

Every observing student will be able to detect errors with 
reference to the several points here named. His ear will be 
sufficient^ critical to distinguish one or more of the many 
faults common to conversational voice. He will also detect 
sluggishness of articulation and the habitual use of incorrect 
sounds. He will perceive, to some degree, or in some particu- 
lar, a want of adaptation to the sentiment expressed. In 
other words, his knowledge is beyond his practice, and no 
more important counsel can be given upon this subject than 
the following: 



CONVERSATIONAL EXERCISES. 25 

1. Listen to your conversation with reference to the several 
elements named. 

2. Correct, in conversation, that which you know to be 
faulty. 

3. Allow no occasion to be so unimportant as to admit of 
loose or incorrect speech. 

By this practice, the ear will observe the speech of those 
more correct than yourself, and will lead you to discover more" 
and more closely your habitual faults, and thus to elevate 
and purify your conversation. 

CONVERSATIONAL EXERCISES. 

These exercises represent a broad variety of conversational 
styles and should be carefully practiced with reference to the 
voice, the articulation and the expression, according to 
the preceding treatment. 

1. " Good morning, Mr. Jones, I am glad to see you. When 
did you arrive in the city ? " 

" I came in by the last train." 

" I hope you left your family well." 

"Very well, thank you." 

" You will call upon us before you go back ? " 

"I will, thank you." 

" Good morning, sir." 

" Good morning." 

2. Is John at home? 
Is your father well? 
When will you go ? 
What is your name? 
What time have you? 

Did you arrive by the night train ? 

Have you to-day's paper? 

What is the news? 

Did you see our mutual friend, Mr. Wilson ? 

Have you been well? You look ill. 

Note.— The practice of questions, such as these, will be found of great ad- 
vantage in gaining natural expression. They should be varied in emphasis and 
inflection. 



26 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

3. We have demonstrations enough, fortunately, to show 
that truth alone is not sufficient; for truth is the arrow, but 
man is the bow that sends it home. There be many men 
who are the light of the pulpit, whose thought is profound, 
whose learning is universal, but whose offices are unspeakably 
dull. They do make known the truth, but without fervor, 
without grace, without beauty, without inspiration ; and 
discourse upon discourse would fitly be called the funeral of 
important subjects! — Henry Ward Beecher. 



4. And he said, A certain man had two sons: and the 
younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the por- 
tion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them 
his living. And not many days after, the younger son gathered 
all together, and took his journey into a far country, and 
there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when 
he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land ; 
and he began to be in want. — Luke xv : 11-14. 



5. Hamlet. Hold you the watch to-night? 

All. We do, my lord. 

Ham. Arm'd, say you ? 

All. Arm'd, my lord. 

Ham. From top to toe? 

All. My lord, from head to foot. 

Ham. Then saw you not his face ? 

Hor. O, yes, my lord ; he wore his beaver up. 

Ham. What, look'd he frowningly ? 

Hor. A countenance more 

in sorrow than in anger. 

Ham. Pale, or red ? 

Hor. Nay, very pale. 

Ham. And fix'd his eyes upon you ? 

Hor. Most constantly. 

Ham. I would, I had been there. 

Hor. It would have much amaz'd you. 

Ham. Very like, 

Very like : Stay'd it long ? 

Hor. While one with moderate haste might tell a hundred. 

Ham. His beard was grizzl'd ? no ? 

Hor. It was, as I have seen it in his life, a sable-silver'd. 

Ham. I will watch to-night : 

Perchance, 'twill walk again. — Shakespeare. 



CONVERSATIONAL EXERCISES. 

6. " It won't do to let John see me in this position," Isaid; 
and so, with a mighty effort, I disengaged myself from the 
pack, flung off the blanket from around my neck, and seizing 
hold of a spruce limb, which I could fortunately reach, drew 
nryself slowly up. I had just time to jerk the rifle out of the 
mud, and fish up about half of the trout, when John came 
struggling along." 

"John," said I, leaning unconcernedly against a tree, as if 
nothing had happened, — " John, put down the boat, here's a 
splendid spot to rest." 

"Well, Mr. Murray," queried John, as he emerged from/ 
under the boat, " how are you getting along ? " 

"Capitally!" said I; "the carry is very level when you 
once get down to it. I felt a little out of breath, and I 
thought I would wait for you a few moments." 

"What's your boots doing up there in that tree?" ex- 
claimed John, as he pointed up to where they hung dangling 
from the limb, about fifteen feet above our heads. 

"Boots doing!" said I, "why, they are hanging there, 
don't you see? You did'nt suppose I'd drop them into this 
mud, did you?" 

"Why, no," replied John, "I don't suppose you would; 
but how about this? " continued he, as he stooped down and 
pulled a big trout, tail foremost, out of the soft muck ; " how 
did that trout come there? " 

" It must have got out of the pail somehow," I responded. 
"I thought I heard something drop just as I sat down." 

I thought John would split with laughter, but my time 
came, for as in one of his paroxysms he turned partly 
around, I saw that his back was covered with mud clear up 
to his hat. 

" Do you always sit down on your coat, John," I inquired, 
"when you cross a carry like this?" — W. H. H. Murray. 



7. Now the laughing, jolly Spring began to show her 
buxom face in the bright morning. The buds began slowly to 
expand their close winter folds, the dark and melancholy 
woods to assume an almost imperceptible purple tint; and 
here and there a little chirping bluebird hopped about the 
orchards. Strips of fresh green appeared along the brooks, 
now released from their icy fetters ; and nests of little varie- 
gated flowers, nameless, yet richly deserving a name, sprang 
up in the sheltered recesses of the leafless woods. 



8 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

8. I cannot vouch, my tale is true, 
Nor say, indeed, 'tis wholly new; 
But true or false, or new or old, 
I think you'll find it fairly told. 
A Frenchman, who had ne'er before 
Set foot upon a foreign shore, 
Weary of home, resolved to go 
And see what Holland had to show. 
He didn't know a word of Dutch, 
But that could hardly grieve him much ; 
He thought, as Frenchmen always do, 
That all the world could " parley-voo." — /. G. Saxe. 

9. I know, the more one sickens, the worse at ease he is ; 
and that he that wants money, means, and content, is without 
three good friends; that the property of rain is to wet, and 
fire to burn ; that good pasture makes fat sheep, and that a 
great cause of the night is lack of the sun ; that he that 
hath learned no wit by nature or art may complain of good 
breeding, or comes of a very dull kindred. — Shakespeare. 

10. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the 
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and 
the man became a living soul." How w T onderful is breath! 
It comes to us in the soft summer morning laden with the 
perfume of flowers ; but ere it reaches us it has kissed a thou- 
sand scented leaves. The birds soar aloft in this mysterious 
ether, pouring their triumphal songs on its resonant bosom ; 
and the butterfly and buzzing insect, ''like winged flowers 
and flying gems," sparkle' and shimmer in their dazzling 
beauty. 

But, whether it brings upon its waves the mutterings of the 
coming storm, or the merry, ringing laugh of childhood — the 
awful booming of the heavy cannonade, or the silvery tones 
of the violin — it is air, such as we breathe. Oh! then let it 
become a thing of joy to us. Let us learn to make it a thing 
of beauty, wreathing embodied thoughts in vocal gems of 
purity and sweetness, that shall gladden the ears of all who 
listen. — Bronson. 

11. External heat and cold had little influence on 
Scrooge. No warmth could warm, nor wintry weather chill 
him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling 
snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less 
open to entreaty. Foul weather didn't know where to have 



CONVERSATIONAL EXERCISES. 29 

him. The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet, could 
boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. They 
often " came down" handsomely, and Scrooge never did. — 
Dickens. 

12. Oh, tell me, where did Katy live? 

And what did Katy do ? 
And was she very fair and young, 

And yet so wicked, too ? 
Did Katy love a naughty man, 

Or kiss more cheeks than one ? 
I warrant Katy did no rriore 

Than many a Kate has done. — 0. W. Holmes, 



13. "And when the middle of the afternoon came, from 
being a poor poverty-stricken boy in the morning, Tom 
Sawyer was literally rolling in wealth. He had, beside the 
things before mentioned, twelve marbles, part of a jew's-harp, 
a piece of blue-bottle glass, to look through, a spool cannon, a 
key that wouldn't unlock anything, a fragment of chalk, a 
glass-stopper of a decanter, a tin soldier, a couple of tadpoles, 
six fire-crackers, a kitten with only one eye, a brass door- 
knob, a dog-collar — but no dog. the handle of a knife, four 
pieces of orange-peel, and a dilapidated old window-sash." — 
Mark Twain. 



14. Fill thou each hour with what will last ; 
Buy up the moments as they go : 
The life above, when this is past, 
Is the ripe fruit of life below. 



For further practice, use exercises under Simple Pure 
Quality, Medium Pitch, Medium Force and Medium Rate. 

For selections adapted to Conversational Eeading, see 
Elocutionist's Annual, No. 1, pages 49, 82 and 101; No. 2, 
pages 66 and 152 ; No. 3, page 42 ; No. 5, page 34. 



PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 



CONVERSATION IN ITS RELATION TO READING. 



a. ANALOGY. 

With reference to Expression, Conversation may be defined 
the utterance of our own thoughts in our own words, to one 
or a few individuals. 

Reading is the utterance of the author's thought in the 
author's words, to one or many individuals. 

We use, in Conversation, the same voice or material, and 
the same forms of sound, and call into exercise the same 
thoughts, feelings and passions as in Reading. 

The Cultivation of these powers for Conversation will give 
them cultivation for Reading, and inasmuch as we converse 
more than we read, it is at once apparent that we have in 
Conversation the greater opportunity for their cultivation. 

b. DISTINCTION. 

The distinction between Conversation and Heading is two- 
fold. 

First. — Reading carries us beyond the province of Conversation, 
when it is addressed to a large collection of persons. This dis- 
tinction involves the same consideration as the distinction 
between Conversation and Public Address, and will be treated 
under the next head. 

Second. — The Second distinction is found in the mechanical 
difficulty of expressing the author's language as naturally as we 
do our own. We have observed that Conversation is the 
expression of thought in our own words. These words being 
chosen from our common vocabulary, are familiar to the 
organs of speech, and are, therefore, uttered without labored 
effort. 

The same is true of conversational constructions. Such 
constructions are used as have become habitual to the 



CONVERSATION IN ITS RELATION TO READING. 31 

speaker, and the mechanical labor of their utterance is 
avoided. In Beading, words and constructions are often 
foreign to the habit of the speaker, and their expression must 
necessarily manifest, at first, the mechanism of their utter- 
ance. It is, therefore, necessary, in Eeading, to give that 
practice to the language which will render the utterance as 
familiar as that of our common Conversation. 

Note. — From the above, it is proper to observe that skill in reading at sight 
can be acquired only by the habitual use of the words in common usage, and by 
familiarity with the various styles of written language. This suggests the im- 
portance of a broad vocabulary in familiar speech and of much reading aloud 
from writers of good style. 

C. MODELS. 

It has been shown in the above discussion, that vjhen the 
authors language has become as familiar as our own there will 
exist a perfect analogy between Conversation and Reading. 
It has also been previously shown that Conversation is the 
original and natural source of all true expression. We will, 
therefore, find in correct and natural Conversation the 
truest and purest models from which to copy in our Reading. 

As the landscape or forest will furnish the painter original 
models for his art, so will Conversation furnish original 
models of sentiment, emotion and passion for the Reader's 
art. In reading, therefore, we should express the language of the 
author as we would utter the same language under the same cir- 
cumstances in pure conversation. 

Note 1.— In Impersonation, the Reader will necessarily depart from the basis 
of his own Conversation to the imitation of the character impersonated. 

Note 2. — Intelligent Reading presupposes that the Reader comprehend the 
thought, and that in its expression he sympathize with the author's meaning; 
these requirements precede the expression of language under all circumstances. 



32 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 



CONVERSATION IN ITS RELATION TO PUBLIC ADDRESS. 



a. ANALOGY. 

Bead carefully the corresponding discussion under the 
previous topic ; it has the same force and bearing in the 
treatment of this division of the subject. 

b. DISTINCTION. 

Conversation and Public Address both concern the con- 
veyance of thought to the individual. 

The distinction consists only in the greater accuracy and 
intensity necessary in Public Address to overcome the ob- 
stacles of number and space. 

This refers to the distinction between the delivery of the 
same sentence before the multitude, and its delivery to a 
single individual. Passages, differing in sentiment, will be 
expressed differently in Conversation, and will preserve a cor- 
responding difference if delivered publicly. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

European guides know about enough English to tangle 
everything up, so that a man can make neither head nor 
tail of it. They know their story by heart, — the history of 
every statue, painting, cathedral or other wonder they show 
you. They know it and tell it as a parrot would, — and if 
you interrupt and throw them off the track, they have to go 
back and begin over again. All their lives long they are 
employed in showing strange things to foreigners and listen- 
ing to their bursts of admiration. — "Innocents Abroad" — 
Mark Twain. 

England may as well dam up the waters of the Nile with 
bulrushes as to fetter the step of Freedom, more proud and 
firm in this youthful land than where she treads the seques- 



CONVERSATION IN ITS RELATION TO PUBLIC ADDRESS. 33 

tered glens of Scotland, or couches herself among the mag- 
nificent mountains of Switzerland. — Speech of James Otis. 



But this very day, an honest man, my neighbor— there 
he stands — was struck — struck like a dog, by one who wore 
the badge of Ursini, because, forsooth, he tossed not high 
his ready cap in air, nor lifted up his voice in servile shouts, 
at sight of that great ruffian ! — Rienzi to the Romans. 



We have here three sentences differing widely in character 
and demanding different forms of expression ; the difference, 
however, exists in the sentences themselves — the first being 
simply conversational, the second bold and oratorical, the 
third impassioned and dramatic. 

This difference will manifest itself in their utterance in 
familiar discourse, where the key to their individual expression 
will be found. Their delivery before the audience will in- 
volve no other distinction than that of increased accuracy 
and intensity. In each case the Conversational form, peculiar 
to the sentence, should be carefully preserved. 

As the picture thrown upon the screen is preserved in 
form, but magnified in all its proportions, so in public 
speech, care should be exercised to preserve the natural or 
conversational form, while, in due proportion of voice and 
manner, there is added earnestness and intensity. 

Note. — Every student should make himself familiar with the following: 



Guide to Public Address.— The manner of expression by 
which I may convey a thought most impressively to a single 
individual, will best convey it to two ; the only change dic- 
tated by nature or reason being such simple change as the 
alternation of the eye from one to the other. The same 
manner of expression will best convey the same thought to a 
dozen, with the necessary change in intensity of voice and 
gesture; this individual basis will furnish the most impres- 
sive form for the utterance of the same sentiment to a 



34 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

thousand, supplemented by a power of voice and earnest- 
ness of gesture adapted to the number and the space. 

Remarks. — Audiences are made up of individual souls, 
not one of which loses its individual character because in 
juxtaposition with another. The soul of an audience can only 
be reached by reaching the individual souls that compose it. 
An individual being addressed, each person regards himself 
the individual, and accordingly appropriates the thought; and 
each having received the thought, all have received it. We 
submit that there is no one fault among public speakers 
more common, or one more baneful than the habit of 
addressing a mass of individuals as if their souls had also 
massed, and that, therefore, they must resort to some unnat- 
ural and monstrous means of access to it. 

c. MODELS. 

Conversation being the source of all true expression, it 
must be at once apparent that we shall here find our highest 
models for Public Speech, needing only enlargement accord- 
ing to the demand. Pure, chaste Conversation is at once 
the highest Oratory, and true Oratory should be so lost in pure 
simplicity that it shall be but noble Conversation. 



GENERAL SUMMARY OF CONVERSATION. 

Conversation is natural communication to the individual. 
All speech is natural communication to the individual; 
therefore all speech is Conversation. Reading and Public 
Address are but modified forms of Conversation, and are so 
closely allied to it that excellence in Conversation will se- 
cure excellence in Reading and Public Address. 



PRINCIPLES. 



It has been shown that the germs of Elocution are found 
native in pure Conversation. Principles will concern the 
processes of their growth and development. These germs 
are found in Speech and Gesture, which are the two great 
.mediums of communication. 



SPEECH. 

Speech is the most direct and the most important instru- 
ment for the conveyance of thought. By it men are put in 
possession of the thoughts and experiences of their fellow- 
men, so that the development of mind itself may be said to 
depend greatly upon Speech. 

The organs uniting in its production are the vocal organs 
for voice, the organs of speech for articulation, and the intel- 
lectual and emotional /acuities for expression. Hence the 
subdivisions — Voice, Articulation, Expression. 

Note. — The term organs of speech, as applied here, is used in its technical 
sense, and includes, prominently, the lips, tongue, teeth, palate and nasal 
organs. 

VOICE. 

Voice is the principal material of which speech is made. 
Its cultivation is closely related to the whole subject of 
Elocution, and therefore claims the most careful attention 
of the student. 

The cultivation of the Voice will depend upon judicious 

35 



36 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

exercise, in harmony with the natural law of human de- 
velopment. 

Intelligent investigation and broad experience have estab- 
lished the fact that voice is the product of a physical 
mechanism, as well-denned as the muscles of the arm or the 
tissue of the brain, and that its development follows a law of 
our being, as simple and as natural as that by which the 
arm moves or the brain thinks. 

It is, however, worthy of observation that the voice does 
not ordinarily receive power or culture, even from the 
most constant exercise, but it does not follow that it therefore 
departs from the recognized law of development, but rather 
that the customary habits of its use are unwise, mistaken, 
and founded in ignorance of its structure. The operations 
of the vocal instrument are so subtle and the liability to false 
practice so great, that it becomes a matter of primary impor- 
tance that the student be directed to its use in his earliest 
exercises. To this end voice is here presented, in its theory 
and practice, under the two heads, Philosophy of Voice and 
Utterance. 

PHILOSOPHY OF VOICE. 

Fhilosophy of Voice concerns the structure of the instrument, 
its use, and its management, and therefore includes its anatomy, 
physiology and hygiene. 

Voice is the result of the vibratory motion produced by 
the action of breath upon the vocal cords./C'The parts imme- 
diately involved are therefore the Organs of Respiration and 
the Vocal Cords. 

The lungs may be properly regarded as the centre of the 
Respiratory System. They are the great reservoirs, where the 
motive power of the Voice is concentrated. 

Directly beneath and immediately connected with the 
lungs is the diaphragm, or movable wall of muscular partition 
between the cavity of the chest and the cavity of the abdo- 
men. This, together with the abdominal muscles, which 
control its movements, may be compared to the handle of 



PRINCIPLES— UTTERANCE. 37 

a bellows, of which the lungs constitute the body. The 
application of power to these muscles, either in the act 
of breathing or speaking, is immediately communicated 
to the lungs, causing the escape of air, or exhalation. The 
corresponding inhalation is controlled by the relaxation of 
these muscles and the consequent depression of the dia- 
phragm. Their proper action constitutes the primary power 
of respiration, and therefore bears an important relation to 
the production of tone. 

Above the lungs, and connected with them by the trachea 
or windpipe, is that wonderful conformation of cartilages' 
muscles and ligaments, known as the Larynx, in which are 
located the Vocal Cords, whence all tone or voice immediately 
proceeds. 

The Vocal Cords consist of two slight, elastic bands, situated 
in the larynx a short distance above its juncture with the 
trachea, and immediately below its outward projection, 
known as the "Adam's apple." These bands adhere so 
closely to the walls of the throat as to be scarcely distin- 
guishable by the aid of the laryngoscope ; but in the act of 
voice production they are thrown forward into the current 
of air escaping from the lungs, and the thin membrane 
covering their surface is thus excited to rapid vibration, 
which, receiving resonance and volume from the cavity of 
the chest and from the mouth, escapes from the lips a per- 
fect creation — voice. 



UTTERANCE. 

From the preceding brief explanation, it will be easily 
understood that the parts of the system involved in the pro- 
duction of voice are, in the order of their use, the Abdomi- 
nal Muscles, the Lungs, and the Vocal Cords. The cavity of 
the mouth also contributes much to the purity and richness 
of the tone. These several parts exist in every perfect 
organization, and may be termed the muscular implements 
of the human voice. 



38 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

Utterance is the technical term given to all sounds emana- 
ting from this vocal instrument, whether whispered or vocal, 
and is the result of the opposition offered to the escape of 
the air-current, by the projection of the vocal cords across 
the trachea. Utterance, therefore, implies such an applica- 
tion of breath upon the vocal cords, and such control of 
them, as to produce sound or voice. It may be regarded 
simply as practical voice-production, and will be treated 
with reference to its development and its quality. 



DEVELOPMENT. 

A well-developed voice imparts force and dignity to every 
relation of life. It is the first step toward culture in the art 
of Elocution. The distinctive aim in vocal development is 
to secure that purity, power and flexibility which must unite 
to give character to the voice. 

Rapid and healthful development will depend upon correct 
breathing, combined with judicious, systematic and vigorous 
vocal and physical exercise. 



BREATHING. 

Respiration or breathing is defined as the process by which 
air is taken into the lungs and expelled from them. It is 
the motive power of the voice. The following seems a 
natural order of treatment : 

a. What we breathe. 

b. Why we breathe. 

c. How we breathe. 

d. Breathing exercises. 

What we breathe. — Health, happiness and existence itself 
depend upon the quality of air we breathe. Pure air alone 
can promote natural activity and buoyancy in the physica- 
being. 



PRINCIPLES'— BREATHING. 39 

Why we breathe. — We breathe to supply the system with 
oxygen ; to releave the body of waste and useless matter, and 
for the purposes of speech — breathing being the great agent of 
human utterance. Respiration also promotes the healthy devel- 
opment of the parts by which it is carried on. The intercostal 
muscles are afforded exercise by breathing; the lungs are 
rendered capacious and flexible; the muscles of the waist 
and back are strengthened, and the whole body is given 
added symmetry aud comeliness. 

How we breathe. — Healthful respiration is carried on through 
the nostrils. This is illustrated, notably, in the breathing of 
animals, savages, and healthy children. The throat and lungs 
are thus protected from the impurities and severity of the 
atmosphere, either of which tends to produce irritation and 
disease. 

By the habit of deep and full inspiration. Every part within 
the whole range of the respiratory system should be ex- 
erted with each successive breath. Exercise is a condition 
of health and strength as absolute as food or air itself. 
Failing for a time to exercise any part of this marvellous 
organism, we have weakened the part in proportion to the 
time it has been inactive. Weakness begets weakness and 
diminished lung power will impair both the quality and the 
power of the voice. 

EXERCISES IN BREATHING. 

1. Chest Breathing. — Eelax the muscles of the chest. Take 
a full inspiration and expand the chest to its fullest capacity. 
£ive out the breath gradually. 

2. Costal Breathing. — Distend the sides while inhaling and 
relax gradually with slow and regular exhalation. 

3. Waist Breathing. — Inhale with the view of expanding 
the entire circle of the waist. 

4. Dorsal Breathing. — Inhale as if endeavoring to thrust 
out the muscles of the back by the force of the air. 

5. Abdominal Breathing. — Breathe deeply, forcing the 



40 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

abdominal muscles outward. Let them sink as much as 
possible during exhalation. 

6. Full Breathing. — Inhale slowly and exercise the will 
upon all parts of the body, simultaneously. This may be 
regarded a union of all the previous exercises, and is but an 
intensified form of what should be the natural habit of 
breathing. 

7. Prolonged Breathing. — Prolong the exercise of Full 
Breathing. 

8. Effusive Breathing. — Inhale naturally. Give out the 
breath in the sound of the letter h, as gently and gradually 
as possible. 

9. Expulsive Breathing. — Inhale as in Full Breathing and 
expel the air forcibly but gradually upon the sound of the 
letter h. 

10. Explosive Breathing. — Take full breath, expel suddenly 
and with force in a whispered utterance of the word Ha. 

Note 1. — An active position should be observed in tbe above exercises, the 
body carefully erect, arms akimbo, and fingers bearing upon the abdominal 
muscles, except as they may be changed to the part upon which the exercise is 
directed. 

Note 2.— These exercises should be used with as much caution and regularity 
as any other gymnastic exercise. They should be commenced gradually and 
discontinued if any sensation of dizziness is experienced. It will be observed 
that the series is progressive in its character, giving it special advantage to 
persons not accustomed to habits of full breathing, and to invalids. 



VOCAL EXERCISES. 

The following table of Vocal Exercises is designed to rep- 
resent the principal forms which the voice assumes in 
response to the various classes of sentiment and passion. 
Let it be understood, however, that these forms are ever 
changing in degree and direction. Nature rarely repeats 
herself with mathematical exactness. The leaves of the tree 
are of a kind, but not alike. Members of a family frequently 
resemble one another, but never is the likeness of one ex- 
actly reproduced in another. So the countenance of a person 



PRINCIPLES — VOCAL EXERCISES. 41 

not only changes under different impressions and emotions, 
but an impression repeated will rarely repeat itself exactly 
upon the countenance. 

No arbitrary form for the voice is therefore suggested by 
these characters, but if disciplined to produce readily, and 
in pure quality, the several forms here suggested, it will 
respond naturally to corresponding sentiments and emotions. 
They should be practiced until the speaker can produce 
them easily and confidently in any order and in any degree. 
This done, they will then take their place in speech, without 
effort, as promptly as the countenance will lighten in the 
presence of an unexpected Mend, or darken at sudden dis- 
appointment or sorrow. 



TABLE OF VOCAL EXERCISES. 

1. AEIOTJ « « « « 6 Naturally. 

2. AEIOU • • © • • "With Full Force. 
A E I O TJ c Alternating High 



r a E i o v < 

\ A E I O U ( 



and Low. 

4. AEIOU — — — ■ — — — Effusively: 

5. AEIOU ^^^^— ■ Expulsively. 

6. AEIOU ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Explosively. 

7. AEIOU <^gS H^" With Swell. 

8. AEIOU 1 1 jjiimjii JMi BPff^BfHQ "With Sustained Force. 

9. AEIOU ~~~— "With Tremor. 

10. A E I O U |^- ^ $► f^" $► "With Full Breathing. 



42 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

EXPLANATION OF THE PRECEDING TABLE. 

1. Natural. — Place the organs of speech in correct posi- 
tion for the sound to be uttered. The vocal cords will 
take their place without any conscious act. The natural 
flow of the air in exhalation will produce the purest tone of 
which the organs are capable, and in the simplest manner. 
The correct use of the breath will be determined by a slight 
depression of the abdominal muscles and the barely con- 
scious stroke of the diaphragm upon the lower part of the 
lungs. To produce a pure tone, the lower jaw should be 
slightly projected, the throat well opened. This will be 
shown by a greater fullness in the outer muscles. 

The greatest care should he observed in this exercise, inasmuch 
as future vocalization will depend upon the correctness of these 
natural sounds. 

2. With Full Force. — Apply the abdominal muscles with 
full force upon the diaphragm, so that the volume of air 
may be brought to bear with great power upon the vocal 
cords. This action should not be abrupt or violent, but firm 
and decisive. 

3. High and Low. — It is designed here to apply the pre- 
ceding two exercises at different points within the natural 
compass of the voice. It is not designed to anticipate the 
more thorough cultivation of pitch as a special modulation. 

4. Effusive. — This exercise consists in the pouring forth or 
effusing of the simplest natural tone. 

5. Expulsive. — With a forcible action of the abdominal 
muscles and well-expanded chest, strike the tone as in Full 
Force, but let the volume of sound diminish more gradually. 

6. Explosive. — Strike the diaphragm with violent and 
abrupt action of the abdominal muscles, and aim to produce 
a burst of voice which shall fall upon the ear clear and sud- 
den. 

7. With Swell. — Beginning with Effusive, expand slowly to 
the degree of Full Force, releasing the action as gradually 



PRINCIPLES— VOCAL EXERCISES. 43 

as it was begun. Purity and regularity in the increase and 
decrease of the tone will report the correctness of the physi- 
cal action. 

8. With Sustained Force. — Exert the muscles of the body 
as in Full Force. Hold them firm and steady, terminating 
the tension abruptly. 

9. Tremor. — Prolong the sounds, either in Natural or Full 
Force, making the voice tremulous by a corresponding 
action of the muscles of the chest. 

10. With Full Breathing. — Concentrate the greatest possi- 
ble force upon a single tone — more violent than in Full 
Force and less abrupt than in Explosive. The utterance 
should be preceded by a full inhalation and then produced 
by such a culmination of power as could not be sustained or 
repeated without renewed breath. 

The student should remember that, in order to obtain the best 
results from these exercises, there should be in each a corresponding 
action of the mind. 

In the natural, the thought should be unimpassioned. In 
full force, there should be great purpose in the mind. In 
high and low, there should be some corresponding mental 
condition of joy or victory in the one, and solemnity or awe 
in the other. The Effusive should be marked by a spirit of 
reflective tenderness; the explosive, by impulsive vehemence ; 
the swell, by an expansion of mind and soul. In sustained force, 
the thought should be sustained with the exercise. In tremor, 
the whole being should at once be possessed with the sense 
of pity, grief, or deep sympathy. In full breathing, there 
should be the greatest possible concentration of soul power. 
And in all, from the most natural to the most violent, there 
should be repose ajid self-possession, so that the exercise 
may be the result of the best condition of mind and body. 



Note.— The following exercises should be practiced until the student can 
promptly mark the distinctions illustrated in the foregoing table. 



44 PRACTICAL EL0CUTI01T. 

EXAMPLES IN NATURAL 



1. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, 
while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when 
thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them ; while the sun, 
or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened nor 
the clouds return after the rain. — Bible. 



2. The grass is just as green, Tom ; bare-footed boys at 

play 
Were sporting, just as we did then, with spirits just as 

gay. 

But the "master" sleeps upon the hill, which, coated 

o'er with snow, 
Afforded us a sliding-place, some forty years ago. 

3. Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that governments long 
established should not be changed for light and transient 
causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that 
mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are snffera- 
ble, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to 
which they are accustomed. But when a long train of 
abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, 
evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it 
is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, 
and to provide new guards for their future security. 

— Declaration of Independence. 

4. She thanked me, 

And bade me, if I had a friend that loved her, 
I should but teach him how to tell my story, 
And that would woo her. On this hint I spake; 
She loved me for the dangers I had passed ; 
And I loved her that she did pity them. 
This is the only witchcraft which I've used. 

— Shakspeare. 

5. Merrily swinging on brier and weed, 

Near to the nest of his little dame, 
Over the mountain-side or mead, 

Robert of Lincoln is telling his name. 

— William Cullen Bryant 



PRINCIPLES— VOCAL EXERCISES. 45 

For additional examples of Natural, use selections of sim- 
ple narrative and plain description. 



EXAMPLES IN FULL FORGE. 

1. Meantime, the tramp, tramp, tramp, sounds on,— the 
tramp of sixty thousand yearly victims. Some are besotted 
and stupid, some are wild with hilarity, and dance along the 
dusty way, some reel along in pitiful weakness, some wreak 
their mad and murderous impulses on the helpless women 
and children whose destinies are united to theirs, some go 
bound in chains from which they seek in vain to wrench 
their bleeding wrists, and all are poisoned in body and soul, 
and all are doomed to death. — J. G. Holland. 

2. Build me straight, worthy Master ! 

Staunch and strong, a goodly vessel, 
That shall laugh at all disaster, 

And with wave and whirlwind wrestle ! 

— H. W. Longfellow. 

3. He stood, and measured the earth : he beheld and 
drove asunder the nations ; and the everlasting mountains 
were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow : his ways are 
everlasting. — Bible. 

4. From hill to hill the mandate flew, 
From lake to lake the tempest grew, 

With wakening swell, 
Till proud oppression crouched for shame, 
And Austria's haughtiness grew tame; 
And Freedom's watchword was the name 

Of William Tell. 

5. And, sir, where American liberty raised its first voice, 
and where its youth was nurtured and sustained, there it still 
lives, in the strength of its manhood, and full of its original 
spirit. If discord and disunion shall wound it— if party 
strife and blind ambition shall hawk at and tear it ; if folly 
and madness, if uneasiness under salutary and necessary re- 
straint, shall succeed to separate it from that Union by which 
alone its existence is made sure, it will stand, in the end, by 
the side of that cradle in which its infancy was rocked ; and 



46 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

it will fall at last, if fall it must, amid the proudest monu- 
ments of its own glory, and on the very spot of its origin. 

— Webster, 

For selections containing additional examples of Full 
Force, see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 1, page 107 ; No. 2, 
page 17 ; No. 5, page 92. 



EXAMPLES IN HIGH AND LOW. 



1. " Make way for liberty ! " he cried, 

Then ran, with arms extended wide, 
As if his dearest friend to clasp ; 
Ten spears he swept within his grasp. 
" Make way for liberty ! " he cried ; 
Their keen points crossed from side to side ; 
He bowed among them like a tree, 
And thus made way for liberty. 

— James Montgomery, 

2. Eternity ! — thou pleasing, — dreadful thought ! 
Through what variety of untried being, 

Through what new scenes and changes must we pass ! 
The wide, the unbounded prospect lies before me ; 
But shadows, clouds, and darkness, rest upon it. 

— Addison. 

3. " John Maynard," with an anxious voice, 

The captain cries once more, 
" Stand by the wheel five minutes yet, 
And we will reach the shore." 



4. 'Tis now the very witching time of night ; 

When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out 
Contagion to this world. — Shakspeare. 

5. Liberty ! Freedom ! Tyranny is dead ! — 
Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets. 

— Shakspeare. 

6. We spend our years like a tale that is told. The days 



PRINCIPLES— VOCAL EXERCISES. 47 

of our years are three-score years and ten ; and if by reason 
of strength they be four-score years, yet is their strength 
labor and sorrow ; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 

— Bible. 

7. He conquers the current, he gains on the sea, — 
Ho, where is the swimmer like Charlie Machree. 

— William J. Hoppin. 

8. Not a word, not a wail from a lip was let fall, 
Not a kiss from my bride, not a look or low call 
Of love-note or courage, but on o'er the plain 
So steady and still, leaning low to the mane, 

Rode we on, rode we three, rode we nose and grey nose, 
Reaching long, breathing loud, like a creviced wind 

blows ; 
Yet we broke not a whisper, we breathed not a prayer, 
There was work to be done, there was death in the air. 

— Joaquin Miller. 

9. Hushed the people's swelling murmur, 

Whilst the boy cries joyously ; 
" Ring ! " he shouts, " Ring ! grandpapa, 
Ring! oh, ring for Liberty ! " 

10. " Ho ! a sail ! Ho ! a sail ! " cried a man at the lea, 
"Ho! a sail ! " and they turned their glad eyes o'er 

the sea. 
"They see us, they see us, the signal is waved ! 
They bear down upon us, they bear down upon us : 
Huzza! we are saved." 

For selections containing additional examples of High and 
Low, see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 2, page 63 ; No. 1, page 
67 ; No. 3, page 31 ; No. 5, page 44. 



EXAMPLES IN EFFUSIVE. 

1. Ail in the wild March-morning, I heard the angels call; 
It was when the morn was setting, and the dark was 

over all ; 
The bees began to whisper, and the wind began to roll, 
And in the wild March-morning I heard them call my 

soul. — Tennyson. 



48 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

2. All day they flew, and all night they flew and flew, till 
they found a land where there was no winter — where there 
was summer all the time ; where flowers always blossom, and 
birds always sing. — Henry Ward Beecher. 

3. Blow, blow, thou winter wind, 

Thou art not so unkind 
As man's ingratitude ; 

Thy tooth is not so keen, 
Because thou art not seen, 

Although thy breath be rude. 

— Shakspeare. 

4. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, cleai 
as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the 
Lamb. — Bible. 

5. How often, oh, how often, 

In the days that had gone by, 
I had stood on that bridge at midnight 
And gazed on that wave and sky ! 

How often, oh, how often, 

I had wished that the ebbing tide 

Would bear me away on its bosom 
O'er the ocean wild and wide ! 

— Longfellow : " The Bridge.*' 

6. In a little while the knell for each one of us will cease, 
and we will slumber with our fathers. But with Christian 
faith we can see light even in the darkness of the tomb. 
From above come voices of loved ones calling us heaven- 
ward ; and, listening, we long for the land of golden streets, 
celestial light, and unfading glory. — Edward Brooks. 

7o And friends, dear friends, when it shall be 

That this low breath is gone from me, 
And round my bier ye come to weep, 
Let one, most loving of you all, 
Say, " Not a tear must o'er her fall ; 
Hegiveth His beloved sleep." 

— Mrs. Browning. 

For selections containing additional examples of Effusive, 
see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 5, page 78 ; No. 3, page 9 ; No. 
1, pages 139 and 159 ; No. 6, page 83. 



PRINCIPLES— VOCAL EXERCISES. 



EXAMPLES IN EXPULSIVE. 



1. But it can not, shall not be ; this great woe to our 
beloved country, this catastrophe for the cause of national 
freedom, this grievous calamity for the whole civilized world, 
it can not be, it shall not be. No, by the glorious Nineteenth of 
April, 1775 ; no, by the precious blood of Bunker Hill, of 
Princeton, of Saratoga, of King's Mountain, of Yorktown ; 
no, by the dear immortal memory of Washington, — that sor- 
row and shame shall never be. — E. Everett. 

2. And there shall be no night there ; and they need no 
candle, neither light of the sun ; for the Lord God giveth 
them light : and they shall reign for ever and ever. — Bible, 

3. Friends : I come not here to talk. Ye know too well 
The story of our thralldom ; — we are slaves ! 

The bright sun rises to his course, and lights 
A race of slaves ! He sets, and his last beam 
Palls on a slave !— M. R. Mitford. 

4. Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my 
hand and my heart to this vote ! Sir, before God I believe 
the hour is come. My judgment approves this measure ; 
and my whole heart is in it. All that I have, and all that 
I am, and all that I hope in this life, I am now ready to stake 
upon it; and I leave off as I began, that, live or die, sur- 
vive or perish, I am for the declaration. It is my living senti- 
ment, and, by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying senti- 
ment: — Independence now, and independence forever! 

— Daniel Webster : John Adams. 

For selections containing additional example of Expulsive 
Force, see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 2, page 40 ; No. 5, p/Mje 
109; No. 1, pages 146 and 156. 



EXAMPLES IN EXPLOSIVE. 



1. " Down ! down ! " cried Mar, " your lances down ! 
Bear back both Mend and foe ! " 

— Walter Scott. 



50 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

2. My fate cries out, 

And makes each petty artery in this body 
As hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve. — 
Still am I called ; — unhand me, gentlemen :— 
I say away : — Go on, I'll follow thee. 

— Shakspeare, 

3. No ! thus I rend the tyrant's chain, 
And fling him back a boy's disdain ! 

— Ann S. Stephens. 

4. The British advance. " Now upon the rebels, charge !" 
shouts the red-coat officer. They spring forward at the same 
bound. Look ! their bayonets almost touch the muzzles of 
their rifles. At this moment the voice of the unknown rider 
was heard : " Now let them have it ! Fire ! " 

— Charles Sheppard. 

5. Up with your ladders ! Quick ! 'tis but a chance ! Be- 
hold, how fast the roaring flames advance ! Quick ! quick ! 
brave spirits, to his rescue fly ; Up I up ! men ! all ! this 
hero must not die ! — Geo. M. Baker. 

For selections containing additional examples in Explo- 
sive, see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 1, page 107 ; No. 4, page 
80 ; No. 2, page 91. 



EXAMPLES IN SWELL 



1. Oh ! Thou Eternal One ! whose presence bright 

All space doth occupy — all motion guide ; 
Unchanged through time's all-devastating flight, 
Thou, only, God! There is no God beside. 

2. Lord thou hast been our dwelling place in all genera- 
tions. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever 
thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from 
everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. — Bible. 

3. lonely tomb in Moab's land ! 
O dark Beth-peor's hill ! 
Speak to these curious hearts of our^, 
.4n4 teach them to be still, 



PRINCIPLES— VOCAL EXERCISE*. 51 

God hath his mysteries of grace, — 

Ways that we cannot tell ; 
He hides them deep, like the secret sleep 

Of him he loved so well. — C. F. Alexander. 

4. What a piece of work is a man ! How noble in reason ! 
how infinite in faculties ! in form and moving, how express 
and admirable ! in action, how like an angel ! in apprehen- 
sion, how like a god ! the beauty of the world ! the paragon 
of animals ! — Shakspeare. 

5. And you, ye storms, howl out his greatness ! Let your 
thunders roll like drums in the march of the God of armies ! 
Let your lightnings w r rite his name in fire on the midnight 
darkness ; let the illimitable void of space become one mouth 
for song ; and let the unnavigated ether, through its shore- 
less depths, bear through the infinite remote the name of 
him whose goodness endureth forever ! — Spurgeon. 

For selections containing additional examples of Swell, see 
Elocutionist's Annual, No. 6, page 133 ; No. 1, page 125; No. 
2, page 20 ; No. 5, page 9. 



EXAMPLES IN SUSTAINED fORGE. 



1. And lo ! from the assembled crowd, 
There rose a shout prolonged and loud, 
That to the ocean seemed to say, — 
"Take her, O bridegroom, old and gray ; 
Take her to thy protecting arms, 

With all her youth, and all her charms ! " 

H. W. Longfellow. 

2. " Ho ! sound the tocsin from my tower, and fire the 

culverin ; 
Bid each retainer arm with speed; call every vassal in !" 

— Albert G. Greene. 

3. King the alarum-bell : — Murder and treason ! 
Banquo, and Donabain ! Malcolm ! awake ' 
Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit, 
And look on death itself ! — up, up, and see 



52 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

The great doom's image — Malcolm ! Banquo ! 

As from your graves rise up, and walk like sprights, 

To countenance this horror ! 

O Banquo ! Banquo ! — Shakspeare. 

4. And now the martyr is moving in triumphal march, 
mightier than when alive. — H. W. Beecher. 

5. Ye call me chief ; and ye do well to call him chief, who, 
for twelve long years, has met upon the arena every shape of 
man or beast the broad empire of Rome could furnish, and 
who never yet lowered his arm. — E. Kellogg. 

For selections containing additional examples of Sustained 
Force, see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 6, page 111; No. 4, 
page 121 ; No. 3, page 93. 



EXAMPLES IN TREMOR. 



1. Farewell ! a long farewell ! to all my greatness. 

— Shakspeare. ' 

2. " Can he desert us thus ? He knows I stay, 

Night after night in loneliness, to pray 
For his return — and yet he has no tear ! 
No ! No ! It cannot be ! He will be here ! " 

— Coates. 

3. We buried the old year in silence and sadness. To 
many it brought misfortune and affliction. The wife hath 
given her husband and the husband his wife at its stern be- 
hest ; the father hath consigned to its cold arms the son in 
whom his life centered, and the mother hath torn from her 
bosom her tender babe and buried it and her heart in the 
cold, cold ground. — Edward Brooks. 

4. Vital spark of heavenly flame, 
Quit, O quit this mortal frame ! 
Trembling, hoping, lingering, flying, 
Oh ! the pain, the bliss of dying ! 
Cease fond Nature, cease thy strife, 
And let me languish into life ! 

— Alexander Pope. 



PRINCIPLES— VOCAL EXERCISES. 53 

5. Save me, God, for the waters are come in unto my 
soul. I sink in deep mire where there is no standing : I 
am come into deep water where the floods overflow me. I 
am weary of my crying : my throat is dried : mine eyes fail 
while I wait for my God. — Bible. 



For selections containing additional examples of Tremor, 
see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 2, pages 9 and 151; N o. 5, 
page 14 ; No. 1, page 113. 



EXAMPLES WITH FULL BREATHING. 



1. I listened, but I could not hear — 
I called, for I was wild with fear ; 

I knew ' twas hopeless, but my dread 
"Would not be thus admonished ; — ■ 
I called and thought I heard a sound, 
I burst my chain with one strong bound, 
And rushed to him. — Byron. 

2. Rouse, ye Romans ! rouse, ye slaves ! 

Have ye brave sons ? Look in the next fierce brawl, 
To see them die ! — Mitford. 

3. Here I stand for impeachment or trial ! I dare accu- 
sation! I defy the honorable gentleman! I defy the gov- 
ernment! I defy their whole phalanx 1 Let them come 
forth. — Graft an. 



5. Hence : home, you idle creatures, get you home ! 
You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless 
things ! " — Shakspeare. 



For selections containing additional examples of Full 
Breathing, see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 6, page 21 ; No. 4, 
page 124 ; No. 1, page 146. 



54 



PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 



GYMNASTICS. 

Physical force and muscular elasticity are indispensable to 
high attainment in vocal development. A vigorous and 
flexible tone can only be produced within a flexible and 
vigorous body. Vigor and flexibility of body are depend- 
ent upon exercise. It is a condition of professional life 
to lack opportunity of such manual labor as will develop 
strength of body. Even if manual labor were associated 
with intellectual, it would not give that symmetry of form 
and grace of movement so necessary to the speaker. Ex- 
ercises for the cultivation of physical strength and of ease 
in movement, were held in high esteem by the ancients, 
and are latterly receiving a degree of that attention which 
they deserve. 

The following exercises have been selected and adapted 
from Prof. Welch's System of Physical Culture. Such 
exercises have been taken from the different series of Free 
Gymnastics as are believed to be the best aids in the develop- 
ment of strength of voice and grace of action. 



FREE GYMNASTIC EXERCISES. 





FIRST SERIES. 




No. of Strains 


1. 


Hands, 




4 


2. 


Drum-beat, 


• 


2 


3. 


Claps, . . . 




2 


4. 


Body, 


• 


2 


5. 


Head, 




2 


6. 


Dumb-Bells, 


• 


1 


7. 


Clubs, . . i 




1 


8. 


Twisted Thrusts, 


• 


2 


9. 


Touching floor with Hands, , 




1 


10. 


Swaying, Swinging Arms, • 


• 


4 



PRINCIPLES— GYMNASTICS. 55 





SECOND SERIES. 




1. 


Hand Movements down and 


up, 


4 


2. 


Hand Movements at Sides, 




4 


3. 


Kaising Arms, 


. 


4 


4. 


Swinging Arms back, 


. 


1 


5 


Raising Shoulders, 


. 


2 


6. 


Elbows back, 


. 


1 


7. 


Thrusting from Arm-pits, 


. 


2 


8. 


Thrusting from Shoulders, 


. 


2 


9. 


Mast Movement, 


, 


1 


LO. 


Attitudes, 


. . 


4 



Note 1. Position.— Heels together ; toes out, so that the feet may form a 
right angle ; head erect ; shoulders and hips drawn back ; chest forward ; hands 
naturally at sides, unless otherwise specified. 

Note 2. Time.-' The system of numbering in the exercises is this : each 
number extends through what may be called one strain of 4-4 music, or eight 
accented and eight unaccented beats; and the time is kept by counting the 
numerals from one to eight for the heavy beats, and for the light beats the 
syllable " and." 

Note 3. The hands are to be firmly clinched, unless on the hips or other- 
wise specified. All thrusts are from the chest unless otherwise specified. 



EXPLANATION OF FIRST SERIES. 

HAND MOVEMENTS. 

1. Thrust right hand down from the chest twice; left 
twice ; alternate twice ; simultaneous twice. 

2. Repeat No. 1, thrusting out at side. 

3. Repeat No. 1, thrusting up. 

4. Repeat No. 1, thrusting in front. 

5. Right hand down once ; left once ; drum-beat (right a 
little in advance of left) once ; simultaneous once ; same 
out at sides. 



56 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

6. Repeat No. 5, thrusting up and in front. 

7. Eight hand down once ; left once ; clap hands ; same 
out at sides. 

8. Repeat No. 7, up and in front. 

BODY MOVEMENTS. 

9. Hands on hips ; twist upper body half round to right, 
then to left, and repeat, stopping each time in front on the 
unaccented beats. 

10. Bend upper body to right and left and repeat. 

11. Bend forward, then back, and repeat. 

12. Bend body to right, back, left, front; then reverse, 
bending to left, back, right, becoming erect only on last 
beat. 

HEAD MOVEMENTS. 

13. Same as 9, except that the head alone is moved. 

14. Same as 10, 

15. Same as 11, 

16. Same as 12, " " " " 

DUMB-BELLS. 

17. Arms extended in front, thumbs up, raise hands 
about a foot, and bring forcibly to shoulders. 

CLUBS. 

18. Arms horizontal in front; raise right hand to perpen- 
dicular over head twice; left twice; alternate twice, and 
simultaneous twice. 

TWISTED THRUSTS. 

19. Thrust hands down, out at sides, up in front, twisting 
the arms at each thrust; repeat three times. 



PRINCIPLES— GYMNASTICS. 57 

TOUCHING FLOOR WITH HANDS. 

20. Thrust hands to floor, not bending knees ; then over 
head, rising on toes, opening hands at each thrust. 

SWAYING, SWINGING ARMS. 

21. Stamp left foot, then right; then charge diagonally 
forward with right ; bend and straighten right knee ; at same 
time throwing arms back from horizontal in front. 

22. Repeat No. 21, on left side. 

23. Eepeat No. 21, diagonally backward on right side. 

24. Eepeat No. 21, diagonally backward on left side. 



EXPLANATION OF SECOND SERIES. 

HAND MOVEMENTS, DOWN AND UP. 

1. Thrust right hand down and up alternately through 
eight beats. 

2. Repeat No. 1 with left hand. 

3. Alternate, right going down as left goes up, and vice 
versa. 

4. Simultaneous, both down, then both up. 

HAND MOVEMENTS AT SIDES. 

5. Thrust right hand to right and left alternately through 
one strain, twisting body when thrusting to left. 

G. Repeat No. 5 with left hand. 

7. Thrust both hands alternately to right and left, twisting 
body. 

8. Thrust both hands to right four times, to left four times. 

ARM MOVEMENT. 

9. Hands down at sides ; raise stiff right arm forward over 



58 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

head four times ; left four times ; alternate four times ; simul- 
taneous four times. 

10. Raise stiff right arm sideways over head four times ; 
left four times ; alternate four times ; simultaneous four times. 

SWINGING ARMS BACK. 

11. Arms extended in front ; swing them back horizon- 
tally. 

RAISING SHOULDERS. 

12. Hands at sides ; raise right shoulder four times ; left 
four times ; alternate four times ; simultaneous four times. 

ELBOWS BACK. 

13. Hands on hips ; throw elbows back. 

THRUSTING FROM ARM-PITS. 

14. Fists in arm-pits; Thrust right down four times; 
left four times ; alternate four times ; simultaneous four times. 

15. Fists upon the shoulders; repeat No. 14 thrusting 
upward. 

MAST MOVEMENT. 

16. Hands over head ; sway body to right and left alter- 
nately. 

ATTITUDES. 

17. Hands on hips, stamp left foot, then right ; charge 
diagonally forward with right, looking over left shoulder. 

18. Repeat No. 17, diagonally forward, left foot. 

19. Repeat No. 17, diagonally back, right. 

20. Repeat No. 17, diagonally back, left. 



PRINCIPLES— QUALITY OF VOICE. 59 

QUALITY. 



The marvellous capacity of the human voice arises from 
its adaptation to the ever-changing phases of human ex- 
pression. Under careful culture it attunes itself to the 
almost infinite diversity of thought and feeling. The term 
" quality," when applied to tone, indicates those distinctive 
properties or characteristics which the voice should assume 
under these varying influences. These qualities constitute, of 
themselves, an unmistakable language, more potent even 
than words, and should be carefully cultivated by the student 
as the very alphabet of expression. Thought and emotion, 
as the direct emanations of the heart, embrace not only the 
true, the beautiful, and the good, but through the effects of 
sin, include its baser passions, and its weaknesses. In obedi- 
ence to this dominant law of mind and soul, voice finds ita 
first natural division into Pure and Impure qualities. 



PURE QUALITY. 

Pure quality of voice is the language of pure thought ; it 
proceeds from the combined and harmonious action of all 
the vocal parts, and is marked by a clear, smooth, and com- 
manding resonance, which is at once the result and the ex- 
ponent of a natural and serene condition of mind and body. 
In respect to its degrees of force and its varied field of ex- 
pression, it is divided into Simple Pure and Orotund. 

Simple pure voice is the voice of pure conversation. It is 
the basis of all the other qualities of tone, and is the natural 
starting-point of culture. Here common faults of voice 
must be overcome, and correct habits permanently estab- 
lished; and since upon the proper understanding and pro- 
duction of this tone ^11 subsequent culture must depend, the 



^ PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

possession of absolute purity here cannot be too strongly in- 
sisted upon. The student should secure this quality before 
attempting to practice the impure tones. It corresponds 
with the natural, as described in the " Table of Vocal Exer- 
cises," on page 41, and the direction for its production 
there given, should be carefully followed. 

Simple Pure Voice is used in simple narration, plain de- 
scription, and the great field of unemotional language. 

Orotund Voice is the symmetrical enlargement of Simple 
Pure Voice, and is produced by a corresponding expansion 
of all the organs used in the production of natural tone. 
This quality of tone in its full development may be justly 
termed the highest character of human utterance. It com- 
bines the two great essentials of perfect speech, purity and 
power, and unites in its production the highest purpose of 
mind and the best condition of body. 

Orotund Voice is the language of sublime and exalted 
thought, lofty sentiment, and grand description. 



EXAMPLES OF SIMPLE PURE. 



1. She was dead. No sleep so beautiful and calm, so free 
from trace of pain, so fair to look upon. She seemed a crea- 
ture fresh from the hand of God, and waiting for the breath 
of life ; not one who had lived and suffered death. 

— Charles Dickens. 

2. Two brown heads with tossing curls, 
Red lips shutting over pearls, 

Bare feet, white and wet with dew, 
Two eyes black and two eyes blue — 
Little boy and girl were they, 
Katie Lee and Willie Gray. 

3. But of all the old sweet treasures that garnish my nest. 
There's one that I love and I cherish the best ; 
For the finest of. couches that's padded with hair 
I never would change thee, my cane-bottom'd chair. 



PRINCIPLES — QUALITY OF VOICE. 61 

Tis a bandy-legged, high-shouldered, worm-eaten seat, 
With a creaking old back and twisted old feet ; 
But, since the fair morning when Fannie sat there, 
I bless thee, and love thee, my cane-bottom'd chair. 

— Thackeray. 

4. Cassius. — That you have wronged me doth appear in this : 
You have condemned and noted Lucius Pella 
For taking bribes here of the Sardians ; 
Wherein my letters, praying on his side, 
Because I knew the man, were slighted off. 

Brutus. — You wronged yourself to write in such a case. 

Cassius. — In such a time as this, it is not meet 
That every nice offence should bear its comment. 

Brutus. — Yet let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself 
Are much condemned to have an itching palm, 
To sell and mart your offices for gold 
To undeservers. — Shakspeare. 

5. I should think myself a criminal, if I said anything to 
chill the enthusiasm of the young scholar, or to dash witr; 
any scepticism his longing and his hope. He has chosen the 
highest. His beautiful faith, and his aspiration, are the 
light of life. Without his fresh enthusiasm, and his gallant 
devotion to learning, to art, to culture, the world would be 
dreary enough. — Charles Dudley Warner. 

6. The Lord is my shepherd ; I shall not want. He 
maketh me to lie down in green pastures : he leadeth me 
beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul : he leadeth 
me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, 
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I 
will fear no evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff 
they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the 
presence of mine enemies : thou anointest my head with oil ; 
my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall 
follow me all the days of my life : and I will dwell in the 
house of the Lord forever. — Bible. 



EXAMPLES OF OROTUND. 

1. Who is the champion ? who the strong ? 
Pontiff and priest, and sceptered throng? 

On fVioca oVioll -Poll 



On these shall fall 



62 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

As heavily the hand of Death, 

As when it stays the shepherd's breath, 

Beside his stall! " —Henry W. Longfellow. 



2. It took Rome three hundred years to die ; and our 
death, if we perish, will be as much more terrific as our in- 
telligence and free institutions have given to us more bone 
and sinew and vitality. May God hide me from the day 
when the dying agonies of my country shall begin ! thou 
beloved land, bound together by the ties of brotherhood, and 
common interest, and perils, live forever — one and undivided ! 

— Lyman Beecher. 



3. Not wholly lost, Father ! is this evil world of ours ; 
Upward, through its blood and ashes, spring afresh the 

Eden flowers ; 
From its smoking hill of battle, Love and Pity send 

their prayer, 
And still thy white-winged angels hover dimly in our 

air. — John G. Whittier. 



4. Thy right hand, Lord, is become glorious in power : 
thy right hand, C Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy, 
and in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown 
them that rose up against thee : thou sendest forth thy wrath 
which consumed them as stubble. And with the blast of thy 
nostrils the waters were gathered together : the floods stood 
upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the 
heart of the sea. — Bible. 



5. Portia — The quality of mercy is not strained 

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven 
Upon the place beneath ; it is twice blessed ; 
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes. 
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest. It becomes 
The throned monarch better than his crown : 
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power, 
The attribute to awe and majesty, 
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings : 
But mercy is above this sceptered sway ; 
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings ; 
It is an attribute to God himself; 



PRINCIPLES— QUALITY OP VOICE. 

And earthly power doth then show likest God'a 
When mercy seasons justice. 

— Skakspeare. 

6. I do not fear to approach the omnipotent Judge, to 
answer for the conduct of my whole life ; and am I to be ap- 
palled and falsified by a mere remnant of mortality here ? 
By you, too, who, if it were possible to collect all the inno- 
cent blood that you have shed in your unhallowed ministry 
in one great reservoir, your lordship might swim in it. 

— Robert Emmet. 



IMPURE QUALITY. 

Impure voice denotes a disturbed condition of mind, and 
results from a corresponding unnatural and unequal effort 
upon the vocal cords. It varies in form and character ac- 
cording to the prevailing trait of the passion of which it 
becomes the language. 

Impure voice is subdivided into Pectoral, Guttural, Aspi- 
rated and Falsetto. 

These subdivisions, with their natural modifications of 
intensity, cover an important field of expression. It should 
however, be understood that these divisions are not arbi- 
trary creations of the elocutionist, but are the natural phy- 
sical effects of passion, as revealed by observation and study. 
It is an established physiological fact that when the soul be- 
comes agitated by some violent emotion, the nervous im- 
pulse thus awakened, rushing through the avenues of the 
body, becomes suddenly the controlling agency of the whole 
physical system. The eye flashes, the muscles of the face 
and arm betray the newly awakened influence, and, in sym- 
pathy with this general physical excitement, the vocal organs 
are disturbed, and the voice instantly reflects this changed 
relation. It loses its natural purity and becomes the agent 
and symbol of the passion that propels it. To this is due the 
rigidity of the cords in the harsh, steely tone of hatred, their 
unnatural tension in the language of terror, and the whole 



64 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

phenomena of voice transition. Indeed, so marked is thia 
physical relation between passion and tone that it is at once 
recognized by every condition of man, and even by the brute 
creation. 

PECTORAL. 

The Pectoral quality of voice is used in the expression of 
remorse, horror, dread, deep solemnity, and in the represen- 
tation of the supernatural. It is the result of a relaxed condi- 
tion of the vocal cords and a feeble and lifeless action of the 
abdominal muscles. 

GUTTURAL. 

The Guttural quality of voice is known as a throat tone. 
When carefully controlled, it is an element of great power 
and energy. It denotes all those states of mind classed 
under dislike and ill-humor. It also appears in the ferocity 
of rage and revenge. The prominent characteristic of this 
tone is its harsh, discordant quality, produced by the com- 
pression and partial closing of the throat above the glottis. 

Note. — This form of impurity is the most prevalent fault of voice ; and the 
greatest care should be taken to confine it to the expression of the sentiments 
above enumerated. 

ASPIRATED. 

The Aspirate quality of voice is the language of secrecy, 
caution, surprise, fear, and certain forms of anger. It arises 
from the escape of unvocalized breath and may consist of 
any of the other qualities of voice, modified by strong breath- 
ing. It also includes the whisper. 

FALSETTO. 

Falsetto voice is generally produced above the natural 
tone, and is used in the imitation of high female voices, in 
the voices of children, and in affectation, terror, &c. 



PRINCIPLES— QUALITY OF VOICE. 65 

EXAMPLES IN PECTORAL QUALITY. 



1. I am thy father's spirit ; 

Doomed for a certain term to walk the night ; 

And for the day, confined to fast in fires, 

Till the foul crimes, done in my daj^s of nature, 

Are burned and purged away. But, that I am forbid 

To tell the secrets of my prison-house, 

I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word 

Would harrow up thy soul ; freeze thy young blood ; 

Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres; 

Thy knotted and combined locks to part, 

And each particular hair to stand on end, 

Like quills upon the fretful porcupine. 

But this eternal blazon must not be 

To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, Oh, list ! — 

If thou didst ever thy dear father love. 

— Shakspeare. 

2. Oh, I have passed a miserable night, 
So full of ugly sights, of ghastly dreams, 
That, as I am a Christian faithful man, 

I would not spend another such a night, 
Though t'were to buy a world of happy days, 
So full of dismal terror was the time ! 

— Shakspeare. 

3. But at midnight, — strange, mystic hour ! — when the 
veil between the frail present and the eternal future grows 
thin, — then came the messenger ! — Harriet Beecher Stowe. 

4. They're gone, they're gone ! the glimmering spark hath 

fled ! 
The wife and child are numbered with the dead. 
On the cold earth outstretched in solemn rest, 
The babe lay frozen on its mother's breast : 
The gambler came at last — but all was o'er — 
Dread silence reigned around : — the clock struck four ! 

— Coates. 

For selections containing additional examples of Pectoral, 
see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 1, page 37 ; No. 2, page 40 ; 
No. 3, page 126 ; No. 4, page 115. 



66 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

EXAMPLES IN GUTTURAL QUALITY. 



1. I know the difficulty the honorable gentleman labored 
under when he attacked me, conscious that, on a compara- 
tive view of our characters, public and private, there is 
nothing he could say which would injure me. The public 
would not believe the charge. I despise the falsehood. If 
such a charge were made by an honest man, I would answer 
it in the manner I shall do before I sit down. But I shall 
first reply to it when not made by an honest man. 

— H. Grattan. 

2. I'll have my bond ; I will not hear thee speak : 
I'll have my bond ; and therefore speak no more. 
I'll not be made a soft and dull-eyed fool, 

To shake the head, relent, and sigh; and yield 
To Christian intercessors. Follow not; 
I'll have no more speaking . I will have my bond. 

— Shakspeare. 

3. I could have bid you live, had life been to you the 
same weary and wasting burden that it is to me — that it is to 
every noble and generous mind. But you — wretch ! you 
could creep through the world unaffected by its various dis- 
graces, its ineffable miseries, its constantly accumulating 
masses of crime and sorrow, — you could live and enjoy your- 
self, while the noble-minded are betrayed, while nameless 
and birthless villains tread on the neck of the brave and 
long-descended ; — you could enjoy yourself like a butcher's 
dog in the shambles, fattening on garbage, while the slaugh- 
ter of the brave went on around you ! This enjoyment you 
shall not live to partake of, you shall die, base dog ! — and 
that before yon cloud has passed over the sun. — Scott. 

4. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, 
and said, Cry aloud ; for he is a god : either he is talking, or 
he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he 
sleepeth, and must be awaked. — Bible. 

5. From the heads of kings I have torn the crown, 
From the heights of fame I have hurled men down ; 
I have blasted many an honored name ; 
I have taken virtue, and given shame ; 



PRINCIPLES— QUALITY OP VOICE. &t 

* 

I have tempted the youth with a sip, a taste, 
Which has made his future a barren waste. 

— Ella Wheeler. 

For selections containing additional examples of Guttural, 
see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 3, page 64 ; No. 5, page 133 ; 
No. 3, page 140. 



EXAMPLES IN ASPIRATED QUALITY. 



1. Hark ! they whisper : angels say, 
" Sister spirit, come away." 

What is this absorbs me quite, 

Steals my senses, shuts my sight, 

Drowns my spirit, draws my breath ? 

Tell me, my soul, can this be death ? — Pope. 

2. Thou sure and firm-set earth ! 
Hear not my steps, which way they walk ; for fear 
The very stones prate of my whereabout. 

— Shakspeare. 

3. Soldiers! you are now within a few steps of the 
enemy's outposts. Our scouts report them as slumbering in 
parties around their watch-fires, and utterly unprepared for 
our approach. A swift and noiseless advance around that 
projecting rock and we are upon them. We capture them 
without the possibility of resistance. Forward ! 

4. They are famished ; 

Let them do what best delights them ; 
Let them eat, for they are famished. 

— H. W. Longfellow. 

5. Ye're there, but yet I see you not ; draw forth each 
trusty sword, 
And let me hear your faithful steel clash once around 

my board ; 
I hear it faintly ; — louder yet ! What clogs my heavy 

breath ? 
Up, all ! and shout for Rudiger, " Defiance unto death ! " 

— Albert G. Greene. 



68 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

For selections containing additional examples of Aspirated, 
see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 3, page 126; No. 2, page 
117 ; No. 4, page 163. 



EXAMPLES IN FALSETTO QUALITY. 



1. I beg your pardon, I thought my father was — or 
might be — dear me, how very awkward ! I never knew any- 
thing happen so cross. I am very sorry I intruded. If I 
hadn't thought my father was here, I would n't, upon any ac- 
count, have — it is very provoking — must look very strange ! 

— Dickens. 

2. " Ephraim ! " said she, the tears rolling down her 
cheeks and the smiles coursing up. " Why, what is it, Ara- 
mathea ?" said the astonished Mr. Jones, smartly rubbing 
his head where it had come in contact with the lounge. 
"Baby!" she gasped. Mr. Jones turned pale and com- 
menced to sweat. " Baby ! " " O, 0, O, Ephraim ! Baby 
has — baby has got — a little toothey, oh ! oh ! " 

—Banbury News Man. 

3. And from the crowd beneath, in accents wild, 

A mother screams, ■' O God ! my child ! my child ! " 

— George M. Baker. 

4. Will the New Year come to-night, mamma ? I'm tired of 

waiting so, 
My stocking hung by the chimney side full three long 

days ago. 
I run to peep within the door, by morning's early light, 
'Tis empty still— Oh, say, mamma, will New Year come 

to-night ? —.Cora M. Eager. 

5. Yes, it is worth talking of! But that's how you always 
try to put me down. You fly into a rage, and then, if I only 
try to speak, you won't hear me. That's how you men 
always will have all the talk to yourselves : a poor woman 
is n't allowed to get a word in. — Bouglas Jerrold. 

For selections containing additional examples of Falsetto, 
see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 1, page 96 ; No. 2, page 46 . 
No. 5, page 89 ; No. 5, page 96. 



ARTICULATION. 



Articulation consists in a correct and distinct utterance of 
the elementary sounds in syllables and words. In nearly all of 
the many definitions given by lexicographers and elocutionists, 
the prevailing idea has been distinctness. While this idea is a 
proper one, it is possible to be distinct and yet not correct, 
in which case the very distinctness makes the incorrectness 
more apparent. In the process of articulation the organs of 
speech constitute what may be termed a set of moulds, capa- 
ble of changing position at will, and any imperfection in the 
moulds, or in their arrangement, will produce a correspond- 
ing imperfection in the utterance. 

In articulation as in morals, we have to answer for sins of 
omission as well as of commission. Our articulation is faulty 
not simply in the incorrect sounds we make, but also in the 
correct sounds we too frequently suppress. The ear should 
be trained to distinguish the finer shades of difference in 
sounds, and the organs of speech should be carefully and 
persistently drilled until they are able to produce, promptly 
and with ease, all the sounds of the language, in all their 
varied and complex combinations. It is believed that a care- 
ful study and practice of the exercises here given will accom- 
plish that result. 

As to the importance of Articulation, there can be but one 
opinion. The distinctness and polish which it gives to speech 
are quickly recognized, even by those whose usage is a sad 
reflection upon that importance. 



70 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION'. 

In the strict sense of the term, Articulation would be 
regarded as a division or department of Pronunciation ; but 
for convenience it will here be given a broader signification, 
and be made to include some exercises in Pronunciation. 

The question is frequently asked, What is the standard of 
pronunciation ? Dr. Worcester says, " The pronunciation 
of the English language, like that of all living languages, 
is in a great measure arbitrary. It is exposed to the caprices 
of fashion and taste. It is liable to change from one age to 
another; and it varies, more or less, not only in the different 
and distantly separated countries in which it is spoken, but 
also in the different divisions and districts of the same coun- 
try. No two speakers or orthoepists, though inhabitants of 
the same place, would be likely to agree in the pronuncia- 
tion of all its words. The standard of pronunciation is not 
the authority of any dictionary, or of any orthoepist ; but it 
is the present usage of literary and well-bred society." He 
then proceeds to show that the usage of the best society in 
London is entitled to far more consideration than that of 
any other city, but adds, in the next sentence, that the usage 
of the best society in the place or district in which one resides 
is not to be disregarded. While the latter suggestion might 
prove a convenience to many, it must be accepted with great 
caution. There are many districts in this country, as well as 
in England, which can scarcely boast of much " best society." 
Even in places claiming men eminent in many departments 
of learning, the utter recklessness and disregard of the prop- 
er forms of spoken language which so generally prevail, 
w^uld render the pronunciation of such men wholly unwor- 
thy as models. JSTot long since, a student remarked, in 
justification of his pronunciation, "Our pastor pronounces 
c-a-l-m, cam, and he is a very intelligent man." The argu- 
ment is a very common, though not a very safe, one. 

With all due deference to Dr. Worcester's remark that the 
authority of any dictionary is not the standard of pro- 
nunciation, we believe that very few persons in America, 



ARTICULATION. 

search beyond Webster and Worcester for their models. It 
is the business of the dictionary to present the best usage of 
the best society, whether it be that of London, Boston, or any 
other city. The revisions of the dictionary should and do 
keep pace with the progress and changes of language. 
While some person must be first, and some other person 
last, in this process of change, yet Pope's rule in regard to 
new words may be fitly applied here : 

In words, as fashions, the same rule will hold ; 
Alike fantastic, if too new or old; 
Be not tks first by whom the new are tried, 
Nor yet the last to lay the old aside. 

The question is frequently asked, Which is preferred, 
Webster or Worcester ? Much has been written, and a great 
deal of'time wasted in the attempt to prove the superiority 
of one to the other. The extent to which Webster is used is 
the very strongest indorsement in itself; and when, with 
that, we couple the testimony of the best scholars in this 
country and in England, it seems like pedantry or bigotry 
to say he is unworthy of recognition as a standard. The 
extent to which Worcester is used is also the very strongest 
indorsement ; and when we find him to be approved by men 
equally renowned, we must recognize him as equally high 
authority. The truth is, they differ less widely than many 
persons suppose ; and when they differ, we have the advan- 
tage of a choice of pronunciation. When Webster says 
eglantine or eglantine, and Worcester says eglantine or 
eglantine, they agree, not only in recognizing the two forms, 
but also in showing their preference for the first. If our 
respect for their CDmmon preference be our controlling 
motive, we will pronounce the word eglantine. But if our 
pastor, or our doctor, or the judge of our county court, or 
the " best society" in which we move, uses the second form, 
and our desire to conform to such usage is greater than our 
respect for the joint preference of Webster and Worcester; 
wc have the fullest freedom to use the second form. 



72 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

When these lexicographers give two forms each of pro* 
nouncing the same word, they frequently reverse the order, 
thus differing in their preference, and, it is to be hoped, for 
other reasons than to differ. When Webster says sliver or 
silver, and Worcester says sliver or sliver, we may have one of 
several motives to govern our choice. We may take the 
preferred form of our preferred authority ; we may be gov- 
erned by home usage or our best society ; or we may call in 
Smart or some other eminent English orthoepist to act as 
umpire. 

When Webster gives two forms and Worcester gives but 
one, or vice versa, if the one form agrees with either of the 
two forms of the other authority, as in most instances it will, 
then the weight of authority would seem to be in favor of the 
form which they give in common. Yet if home usage is in 
harmony with the other form, that usage may assert its privi- 
lege even to the exclusion of the other authority. If Webster 
says vase (pronounced voce) and Worcester says vase (pro- 
nounced vaze) or vase, the weight of authority seems to be in 
favor of vase (pronounced vace) yet home usage, or a third 
orthoepist, may decide otherwise. 

If Webster says cem'-ent or ce-merd', and Worcester says 
cem'-ent, the case is clearer, for Worcester's only form agrees 
with Webster's preferred form ; yet even here, home usage, 
or a third orthoepist, or both combined, may decide in favor 
of ce-ment'. When Webster says somber and Worcester 
sombre, we are compelled to make a choice, and will make it, 
doubtless, by some of the methods already suggested. 

Most persons use but one dictionary, and will, therefore, 
follow the dictum of that one, but in these days of cheap 
books and close attention to forms of pronunciation, it would 
be well to have not only a quarto edition of one of our stand- 
ard lexicographers, but also one of the better abridged 
.editions of the other. This is necessary, not so much to 
assure ourselves that we are right, for we may be right by 
the use of one dictionary, but rather to be assured that our 
neighbor is not wrong. In our study of pronunciation, 



ARTICULATION. 73 

instead of trying to be strictly in harmony with one of the 
recognized authorities, and ignoring the other, we should 
aim, rather, to be not opposed to both. The reader will 
observe that in this discussion, we have had reference sim- 
ply to Pronunciation. 

The change from an old form of pronunciation to a 
new one is alwa}'s attended with discomfort for a while. It 
is like donning a new hat or wearing a pair of shoes for the 
first time. We feel ill at ease, and imagine everybody recog- 
nizes our discomposure. But the new form, by constant 
use, grows to fit the mouth, as the new shoes become easy 
to the feet. To one who has pronounced c-a-l-f, kdf, for 
many years, the change to leaf may make him feel not unlike 
that animal for a time, but a knowledge of the fact that the 
latter form alone is right should stimulate him to overcome 
all opposing difficulties. The first thing necessary is the 
acquaintance of the ear and its acceptance of the new form ; 
for the ear, like timid children, will not receive a stranger 
willingly. Many repetitions of the new form aloud, will 
beget ease in its utterance, and accustom the ear to its sound, 
and after much private practice of this kind, the learner 
need not hesitate to use it in conversation or reading. Con- 
fidence is victory ; timidity defeat. If the student will make 
it a habit to consult the dictionary whenever he hears a form 
of pronunciation unlike his own, and make a careful list of 
the words in which his usage is incorrect, and correct those 
words in the manner suggested above, he will find his ear 
and his tongue keeping pace in the new work, the former 
acquiring the power to discriminate very closely, and the 
latter the power to make the finer distinctions with ease, so 
that that which at first may be a task, will grow to be a 
source of never-failing delight. 



74 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

EXERCISES IN ARTICULATION, 

With Suggestions to Teachers and Students. 



The following exercises were arranged several years a^o, 
for use in the classes of the National School of Elocution and 
Oratory, with no thought of their appearance in a book. 
The matter was gathered from various sources, some of it 
being used without change, while much of it has been given 
new shape and adapted more fully to our purpose. The old 
and the new have been so thoroughly mingled, that to-day it 
would be difficult to make acknowledgment where acknowl- 
edgment might be due. When every claim has been satisfied, 
it is believed enough will still remain to commend the ex- 
ercises to all who aspire after correct and distinct enuncia- 
tion. 

To some, the arrangement may seem illogical and the 
exercises disjointed, but it must be remembered that this 
does not aim to be a systematic treatise upon the theory of 
articulation, but rather a series of practical and progress- 
ive exercises, designed to promote good articulation. These 
exercises have been thoroughly tested in the class-room and 
their value fully established. 

A thorough acquaintance with the elementary sounds of 
the language lies at the foundation of good articulation. 

Instead of presenting the table of elements at the outset, 
experience has shown that it is better to lead the student to 
that closer discrimination which the table involves, by a 
careful system of spelling exercises. This inductive method 
greatly simplifies the task by showing the student that the 
analysis or spelling is nothing more than simply separating 
the sounds, which, in combination he has long been accus- 
tomed to use. 



ARTICULATION — PHONIC ANALYSIS. 75 

The division into lessons, here indicated, is not essential, 
being a mere matter of convenience in our classes as adapt- 
ed to the length of the recitations. 



I. 

To thb Teacher. — In the spelling exercises, have the class pronounce the 
word mat in a firm conversational tone. Then, prolong the word several 
seconds, being careful to distribute the time as equally as possible upon the 
several sounds. The t sound cannot be much prolonged, but it should be made 
sharp and clear. The m should be as long as the a. This will set out the several 
sounds in the word conspicuously, and prepare the student for the third step, 
which is the analysis. In the prolonged form it is we-Il to use the monotone, so 
that the slide or inflection may not call the attention away from the final 
sound. When the word has been thus pronounced, have the class reproduce 
the first sound alone, then the second, then the third. If the first be given 
correctly and the second incorrectly, set aside the m sound, and have them re- 
peat what remains of the word (at), listening closely for the first sound now 
made. Proceeding slowly and carefully in this way, the student will soon 
come to enjoy what will be to him the discovery of a new power. Insist upon 
his ignoring the letters, and have him depend entirely upon the sound. For 
this purpose the teacher should pronounce the words of the first lesson without 
the students having seen them previously, or even seeing them at the time of 
spelling. The simplest words have been selected, and some of the sounds are 
frequently repeated so as to make the task as light as possible. The five steps 
in the process of phonic analysis are as follows : 1st. Teacher pronounce the 
word in a firm, natural tone. 2d. Class pronounce the word in the same tone 
as nearly as possible. 3d. Class prolong the word. 4th. Class utter the separate 
sounds of the word. 5th. Class pronounce the word in a simple, natural man- 
ner. The word having been pronounced by the teacher, the work of the class 
may be suggested to the eye by the following arrangement: 

mat 

m - - a - - t 

m a t 

mat 

The last step is designed to give greater completeness to the process of analy- 
sis. Without it, the work would seem unfinished. If the pupils have much 
difficulty In properly prolonging the word, or in separating the sounds after 



76 Practical Elocution. 

prolonging it, have them repeat the process a number of times, enlarging 
slightly at first and increasing in length each time until the several sounds 
hang together by so feeble a thread that they may be readily separated. This 
may be represented thus : 

mat 

m - a - t 

m - - a - - t 

m - - a - - t 

m - - a - - t 

m a t 

m a t 

mat 

mat 

The exercises may be nicely varied,, and with great interest and profit too, by 
the employment of the synthetic method, the teacher giving the several sounds 
of a word widely separated, and requiring the class to put them more and more 
closely, until they combine to form the word. This process may be represented 
to the eye by reversing the above arrangement, thus: 

Teacher : 

mat 

Class: m . . . a . t 

m - a - t 

m - a - - t 

m - - a - - t 

m - - a - - t 

m - a - t 

mat 

After the words have been spelled in concert, they should be respelled by the 
individual members of the class. 

The second exercise of this lesson is designed to give practice in the use of 
tho sound of wh, and is especially designed for 1 hose who say wot, wen, wich, wile, 
wy, for what, when, which* while, why. Believing that a single short exercise. 
many times repeated and thoroughly mastered, will give greater strength and 



ARTICULATION — PHONIC ANALYSIS. 



77 



skill than many long and intricate ones, we recommend that a few simple 
exercises be committed to memory. They are thus available at any time, and 
will often be practiced when they would not be if their practice depended upon 
having the book in hand. 

1. Spell by sound — 
mat lap jam hem fit cog nut cut yelp 



fat ham ten get 

sat pan net sin 

fan man set pin 

can rat keg sit 



hip fog fun rum bold 

fig hop tub vat dust 

rim log gum wag wend 

sip mug sun zest gill 



2. Commit to memory — 

What whim led White Whitney to whittle, whistle, whis- 
per, and whimper near the wharf, where a floundering whale 
might wheel and whirl ? 



II. 



To the Teacher.-— The observations in the first lesson will apply with equal 
force to the first and third divisions of this. The second exercise has a double 
purpose. By a gradual inductive process we pass from simple monosyllables 
containing the long and short vowel sounds to those sounds as individual ele- 
ments. We also lay a basis for a series of exercises continued through a num- 
ber of lessons, the advantage of which exercises will become more apparent as 
we proceed. Be careful to have the class give the short vowel sounds correctly; 
the long vowel sounds will present but little difficulty. 

1. Spell by sound — 



band 


glad 


rant 


span 


tramp 


shad 


cash 


chat 


flag 


smash 


that 


thrash 


bench 


jest 


kept 


trench 


thick 


went 


whelp 


inch 


fish 


midst 


whist 


swim 


swing 


thong 


flog 


prompt 


blush 


bunch 


snug 


sham 


chum 


thump 


shrub 


child 


both 


charm 


marsh 


yard 


bald 


salt 


bush 


broil 


ground 


push 


spoil 


south 


whale 


twine 


thrive 


thine 


flume 


flute 



78 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

2. Pronounce firmly — mate mete mite mote mute 
Pronounce firmly — mat met mit mot mut 

Alternate several times — 

mate j mete | mite I mote I mute | boon I boil 
mat I met | mit I mot I mut | book | bout 

Dropping the first sound in the above words, repeat — 

ate I ete ite j ote ute I oon | oil 

at I et I it I ot I ut | ook | out 

Dropping the last sound in the above words, repeat— 



i I 6 j a I oo J 



a e l o ? u oo oi 

a I S 1 I 6 \ H I 6t> I ou 



3. Commit to memory — 

Amidst the mists and coldest frosts, 
With stoutest wrists and loudest boasts, 
He thrusts his fists against the posts, 
And still insists he sees the ghosts. 



ABTTCULATION. 79 



m. 



To the Teacher. — The sounds of b, d, g, w and y are generally regarded 
difficult by begin aers. The prolonged form of the consonant, suggested in the 
first exercise, will render them easy of acquisition. By g is meant the hard 
sound, as in go, not as in gem. The sound of wli is equivalent to woo; and the 
sound of yob, to yu. In the second exercise be very careful that the short vow- 
els are made correctly. Tbe third exercise is designed to give vigor and 
flexibility to the muscles of 1he mouth. In the fourth exercise, begin slowly 
and carefully, and increase to a rapid utterance. Make no pause between the 
words of a line, and only a slight pause at the end of the line. In the fifth ex- 
ercise, have the class give separately and vigorously the sounds represented by 
the letters in Italics, then the combination as a whole, after which, bring out 
the combination prominently in the words that follow. The letters of the 
Italic combination are not always the same as those representing the combina- 
tion in the word, but the sounds are the same, and the Italics are the better 
representatives of the sounds. 

1. Utter firmly the following exercise, dwelling upon the 
consonant element, and ending the vowel abruptly — 

ba be bi b5 bu boo boi 

ba I be" bi I bo bu 1 boo 1 bou 

Substitute for 6, in the last exercise, d, g,j, I, n, w, y. 

2. Pronounce firmly — a ei6uoooi|aSI6uo6ou 

3. Utter the following, slowly and carefully at first, and 
increase to a very rapid utterance — 

ba-pa I be-pe I bi-pi | bo-po I bu-pii I boo-poo I boi -poi 
ba-pa I bg-pe" I bi-pi | bo-po | bu-pti I bdo-poo I bou-pou 

Also — da-ta | va-fa | ja-cha. 

4. Commit to memory — 

ceaseth, approacheth, rejoiceth, ceaseth, 
approacheth, rejoiceth, ceaseth, approacheth, 
rejoiceth, ceaseth, approacheth, rejoiceth. 



80 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

5. Subtonic Combinations 



bd robbed, robed 
gd bragged, dragged 
ngd banged, hanged 
njd singed, tinged 
Ijd bulged, divulged 
ndz lands, mends 



thz sheathes, breathes 

thd sheathed, breathed 

Imz elms, films 

zm chasm, prism 

zmz spasms, schisms 

»n risen, dozen. 



rv. 



To the Teacher. — It is desirable that the table of elementary sounds, with 
their key words, be committed to memory. This need not be accomplished in 
one lesson, nor in five, but should be kept in mind, so that with a little special 
Btudy, together with the reviews hereafter to be given, the work will be 
achieved without much effort. For the convenience of the student the nota- 
tion of Webster and of Worcester is presented in its application to the voice 
sounds. For the purpose of drill, have the class pronounce firmly each key 
word under Voice Sounds twice, then utter the sound of the vowel twice. After 
the enti-e list has been disposed of in this manner, repeat the list, giving tbe 
key word once and the sound twice. Repeat, giving the vowel sounds only, but 
uttering each twice. Proceed in like manner with the Breath and Union 
Sounds. The distinguishing character of the vowel sounds in the coalescents 
or inseparables— ar, er, or, and ur — depends entirely upon the r. Although the 
vowel sounds may be given alone, or may even be combined with other sounds 
than r, yet the fact remains that in English words those vowel sounds are in- 
separably combined with r. For this reason it is suggested that the two sounds 
be joined and considered as one, just as the diphthongs oi and ou are regarded 
as single, though not simple sounds. For the convenience of the student the 
names of the diacritical marks or symbols are given. 

1. The elementary sounds are classified according to the 
material of which they are made. 

Voice Sounds are those which are made of voice. 
Breath Sounds are those which are made of breath. 
Union Sounds are those which unite voice and breath in 
one element. 



ARTICULATION — ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 81 

2. Commit to memory — 

TABLE OF ELEMEKTAKY SOUNDS. 









Voice Sounds. 






Webster. 


Worcester 




Webster. Worcester. 


1 


A 


a le 


A 




12 


u u se 


u 


2 


A 


a t 


A 




13 


u u p 


u 


3 


A 


a 1ms 


A 




14 


oo oo ze 


6 


4 


A 


all 


A 




15 


db 1 oo k 


u 


5 


A 


a sk 


A 


- 


16 


01 <M* 1 


01 


6 


E 


e ve 


e 




17 


ou ou t 


60 


7 
8 


E 
I 


^ Ik 
i ce 


e" 
! 












18 


a far e 


A 


9 


1 


i n 


1 




19 


£ er se 




10 


6 


o Id 


6 




20 


or b 




11 


o 


o n 


6 




21 


U itr n 


u 








Breath Sounds. 






1 


/an 




4 


p in 




8 s/i 


am 


2 


A at 




5 


sun 




9 th 


in 


3 


fcid 




6 

7 


t an 

c/i in 




10 wA 


en 








(to// Sounds. 






1 


6 oy 




6 


?>i an 




11 y 


oke 


2 


d ay 




7 


n ot 




12 one 


3 


o 




8 


r oam 




13 a ure 


4 


j udge 


9 


v an 




14 tf> 


an 


5 


/ one 


10 


w e 




15 so ng 






DIACRITICAL POINTS 








H 


Macron. 




•• 


Diseresis. 






\J 


Breve. 






A 


Caret. 






ea 


Tilde. 
Period 






L 


Obelisk. 





82 



PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 



PRACTICAL HINTS UPON A FEW VOICE SOUNDS. 



To the Teacher. — Careful and frequent practice upon the words given as 
examples and as exercises in this lesson will be profitable. The student should 
bo urged to increase the list of examples under each of the sections, as ex- 
amples are furnished in his conversation and reading, especially adding those 
in which his usage is faulty. 

1. Italian a (a) when not followed by r is frequently mis- 
pronounced. Examples — balm, calm, palm, psalm, calf, 
half, ha, wrath, aunt, laugh, launch, mustache. 

2. Fifth a (A or a) occurs chiefty in monosyllables ending 
in ff, ft, ss, st, sk, sp, nee, nt. The following list, with their 
derivatives, will furnish abundant practice : — 



quaff 


shaft 


blast 


pasture 


mask 


enhance 


staff 


waft 


fast 


pilaster 


task 


glance 


abaft 


amass 


bombast 


plaster 


asp 


lance 


aft 


surpass 


contrast 


cast 


clasp 


prance 


after 


alas 


disaster 


vast 


grasp 


trance 


craft 


brass 


aghast 


repast 


gasp 


ant 


draft 


mass 


ghastly 


ask 


hasp 


chant 


draught 


pass 


last 


bask 


rasp 


grant 


graft 


lass 


mast 


basket 


advance 


pant 


haft 


grass 


mastiff 


cask 


answer 


slant 


raft 


glass 


past 


casket 


chance 


blanch 


rafter 


class 


pastor 


flask 


dance 


branch 



3. Short o (6) is often incorrectly soundejl like broad a 
(a or a). Examples — on, gone, dog, off, often, soft, soften, 
long, prong, song, strong, thong, throng. 



ARTICULATION — PHONICS. 83 

4. Long u (u) is often incorrectly sounded like long oo 
(6b or 6) when preceded by d, g, j, I, n, s, t, ch, th, wh, z. 
Examples— dubious, duty, duke, duet, dew, due, duel, dupe, 
gewgaw, gubernatorial, June, juice, jubilant, jubilee, junior, 
juniper, jurist, lute, Lucifer, lunacy, lurid, lucid, lucre, lumin- 
ous, new, neuter, nucleus, nuisance, numeral, nutriment, 
suit, suitor, suet, sue, sudorific, suicide, superintend, tune, 
tube, tunic, Tuesday, tureen, tulip, tumult, chew, chusite, 
thews, whew, whewer, zuche, azumea. 

5. After r, sh, and w, the letter u represents the sound of 
long oo (oo). Examples — rude, brute, fruit, shude, shute, 
sure, issue. 

6. The coalescent or (a or a with r), as in pare, should not 
bend too much toward long a (a), as in payer, nor yet to- 
ward short a (a), as in parry. 

7. The coalescent er (e with r) should be carefully distin- 
guished from ur (u or u with r). Exercise — yes, sir; no, sir; 
prefer, verge, verse, mercy, ermine, — fir, fur; earn, urn; bird, 
burred ; serge, surge. 

8. " The vowel in the coalescent or is more open than long 
o (o), but not so open as broad a (a or 1). Examples — for, 
more, corn, borne, lord, stork, pour, George, board, mourn, 
door. But when or occurs in an accented syllable, followed 
by a vowel, or by another r, in a word not a derivative, it has 
its regular short sound (5). Examples — foreign, orange, tor- 
rid, coronet, coral, correlate, corridor. 

9. The coalescent ur occurs in monosyllables when not 
followed by a vowel ; in accented syllables with r final, or r 
followed by one or more consonants different from itself; 
and in derivatives from either of those classes. Examples — 
cur, fur, furl, hurt, burst, purr, — recur, curfew, furlong, dis- 
bursed, — currish, furry, purring, recurring. This sound 
should be carefully distinguished from short u (u) before 
r in such words as curry, hurry, burrow, currant, current. 



PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 



VI. 



To the Teacher.— Tlio lcng and short vowel sounds are designed to be used 
in tko second section of tbis lesson as in the third section of lesson III. , The 
third section of this lesson has been explained under the fifth section of lesson 
III, and the fourth section under the first section of lesson I. As few persons 
pronounce all of the words of the fifth section of this lesson correctly, it should 
be practiced with great care. 

1. Review Voice Sounds, first with key words, then with- 
out key words. 

2. ba-pa | da-ta | va-fa | tha-tha | ja-cha | gsa-ksa, first 
with accent on first syllable, then with accent on second 
syllable. 

3.— 



Idz molds 


i, folds 




ps 


taps, sips 


rbd orbed 


, absorbed 




pt 


rapt, slept 


rjd urged 


, verged 




sps 


grasps, 


wasps 


rdz cards, 


words 




spt 


clasped, lisped 


rlz purls, 


girls 




sks 


asks, risks 


rid furled 


, world 




skt 


tasked. 


, frisked 


rmz arms, 


firms 




ths 


truths, 


withes 


rind charmed, squirmed 




tht 


withed 


, scathed 


rvz carves 


, serves 




sts 


mists, 


posts 


rvd starved, curved 




Ms 


acts, picts 


4. Spell by sound — 










Aaron 


hough 


fault 


says 


hawk 


earth 


broad 


dost 


blood 


pretty 


love 


spoon 


said 


read 


gauge 


sergeant 


haunt 


feud 


grew 


been 


beau 


captain 


ceil 


gu 


aranty 


finance 


heart 


now 


new 


sleight 


deign 


yeoman 


deep 


chair 


book 


daunt 


plaid 


shoe 


what 


eye 


guard 


aisle 


swear 


gain 


could 


bear 


wolf 


knowledge 


girl 


any 


sought 


there 


hautboy 


does 


beauty 


people 



ARTICULATION — PHONICS. 85 

5. For the hundredth time he spoke of lengths, breadths, 
widths, and depths. 

He adds fourths, fifths, sixths, sevenths, eighths, ninths, 
tenths, elevenths, and twelfths with skill. 



VII. 

To the Teacher. — The first exercise of this lesson is designed to show how 
different letters and combinations of letters are used to represent the same 
sound. The words should be used as an exercise in phonetic spelling, the 
student in each case pointing out the equivalent. 

1 — Equivalents : 

a sail, gauge, lay, great, deign, they, melee. 

a plaid, guaranty. 

a daunt, heart, gitard, sergeant. 

a 4 pause, law.', groat, sought. 

a 5 No equivalents. 

e weak, seize, people, key, brief, pique, seek, 

e" any, said, says, dead, heifer, leopard, friend, guess, bury. 

I aisle, sleight, eye, die, choir, guide, buy, try. 

i .English, been, sieve, women, busy, build, symbol, captain, 
tortoise. 

5 hautboy, beau, yeoman, sew;, boat, hoe, soul, flow. 

6 hough, knowledge, what. 

u beauty, feud, dew;, adieu, view, jour, cue, suit. 

u does, love, young, blood. 

oo shoe, soup, rheum, drew;, do, canoe, manoeuvre, rude, 

recruit. 
06 wolf, would, -pull. 
oi joy. 
ou now. 

ar hair, bear, where, their, Aaron. 
er earnest, mirth, myrrh, guerdon. 
or extraordinary, George, board, mourn, 
ur worm, journey. 



86 



PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 



2.— Affix the long and short vowels as in previous exer- 
cises, and accent the first and third syllables : 

/ / ///// / 

b-p-b-p | d-t-d-t | v-f-v-f j th-th-th-th 

j-ch-j-ch J gs-ks-gs-ks | w-v-w-v j v-w-v-w 



VIII. 

To the Teacher. — Cognates are sounds requiring the same position of the 
vocal organs. The first of each pair is a B.-eath Sound, the second a Union 
Sound. The distinction should be carefully marked. 

The Contrasts require preat precision in their utterance. Careless speakers 
make little or no difference in their pronunciation. 

1. Review Union Sounds first with key words, then with- 
out key words. 



2. Cognates— 










ft v, > st > 


vast 




ch,j, 


chest, jest 


k, g, Mil, 


pill 




sh, £, 


Ashu r, azure 


p, b, pare 


, 6are 




th, th, 


thigh, thy 


s, z, seal. 


zeal 




wh, w, 


whit, wit 


t, d, time 


, dime 








3. Contrasts- 










prince, prints 


tracks 


, tracts 




tens, tends 


mince, mints 


axe, 


acts 




wrens, rends 


sense, cents 


sex, 


sects 




fens, offends 


dense, dents 


ducks, ducts 




relics, relicts 


tense, tents 


false, 


faults 




instance, instants 


chance, chants 


reflex, 


reflects 


incidence, incident! 



ARTICULATION — PHONIC ANALYSIS. 



87 



4. Spell by sound — 



bitumen 


borealis 


ate 


wiseacre 


stolid 


bequeath 


single 


do 


viscount 


strata 


bouquet 


sugar 


ink 


truculent 


splenetic 


circuit 


coffee 


brew 


tyrannic 


spouse 


blackguard 


uncle 


truths 


transition 


squalor 


blouse 


finger 


troche 


trilobite 


sojourn 


bronchitis 


sure 


swarthy- 


tartaric 


sepulture 


placard 


truffle 


talc 


telegraphy 


sardonyx 


blatant 


tribunal 


tepid 


suffice 


research 



5. Affix the long and short vowels as in previous exer- 
cises. 

Accent the first and fourth syllables — 

w-v-v-w I v-w-w-v. 
Accent the second syllable — 

' / / / 

w-v-v-w I v-w-w-v I th-th-th-th | th-th-th-th. 

Accent the fourth syllable — 

/ / / , 

b-d-p-t-p | w-v-f-v-w | th-th-s-sh-th | j-ch-gs-ks-k. 

Without accent — 

sf-ksth-ksth | ksth-sf-ksth | sf ksth-ksthsf. 

6. Pronounce carefully, as indicated in III., 5 — 

troubl'st, doubl'st 
rob'dst, prob'dst 
cradl'st, saddl'st 
struggl'st, smuggl'st 
begg'dst, drugg'dst 
rag'dst, wag'dst 
hold'st, fold'st 
whelm'st, film'st 
delv'st, helv'st 
help'st, scalp'st 



mf, 


nymph, lymph 


blst, 


dths, 


widths, breadths 


bdst, 


bst, 


rob'st, prob'st 


dlst, 


M, 


milked, bilked 


gist, 


Iths, 


healths, wealths 


gdst, 


l/ths, 


twelfths 


jdst, 


Icht, 


filched, mulched 


Idst, 


nths, 


months, plinths 


Imst, 


ngths, 


lengths, strengths 


Ivst, 


thst, 


sheath 'st, breath'st 


Ipst, 



88 



PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 



IX. 

To the Teacher.— In the second section affix the long and short vowel 
sounds as before. 



1. Keview Table of Elementary Sounds— 
' With natural force, 



Voice Sounds : 



With great vigor, 

With soft whisper, 

With loud whisper, 

With mixed voice and breath. 



Breath Sounds : < j i 

f Soft, 
1 Loud. 



Union Sounds 



' ', ' tt / 

w-v-f-f-v-w I dr-bl-pl-dw-gr-kr | dr-bl-pl-dw-gr-kr 



list, 


melt'st 


vlst, 


driv'lst 


rmdst, 


harm'dst 


Ikst, 


milk'st 


zdst, 


gaz'dst 


mdst, 


burn'dst 


mdst, 


doom'dst 


zlst, 


dazzl'st 


rvdst, 


curv'dst 


mpst, 


thump'st 


znst, 


reason'st 


rptst, 


harp'dst 


mist, 


prompt'st 


thdst 


sheath'dst 


vldst, 


drivTdst 


ndst, 


bend'st 


ngdst, 


hang'dst 


zldst 


dazzl'dst 


ntst, 


want'st 


plst, 


rippl'st 


zndst, 


reas 'n'dst 


ngkst, 


think'st 


klst, 


buckl'st 


pldst, 


rippl'dst 


rbst, 


curb'st 


knst, 


black 'n'st 


tldst, 


settl'dst 


rdst, 


gird'st 


fist, 


trifl'st 


kldst, 


buckl'dst 


rjst, 


enlarg'st 


fnst, 


deafnst 


kndst, 


black 'n'dst 


rlst, 


hurl'st 


thnst, 


length'n'st 


fldst, 


trifl'dst 


rmst, 


harm'st 


bldst, 


troubl'dst 


fndst, 


deaf 'n'dst 


rnst, 


learn'st 


didst, 


bridl'dst 


Iptst, 


help'dst 


rtst, 


hurt'st 


dndst, 


hard'n'dst 


rktst, 


lurk'dst 


rkst, 


mark'st 


gldst, 


struggl'dst 


pndst, 


open'dst 


rchst, 


search'st 


rbdst, 


curb'dst 


thndst, 


length 'n'dst 


vdst, 


lov'dst 


rldst, 


hurl'dst 


rchtst, 


search 'dst 



ARTICULATION — SEAT OF THE ACCENT. 89 

X. 



To the Teacher.— The rules of this lesson are too general, and the excep- 
tions too numerous, to make the rules of much practical benefit, other than to 
show general tendencies of the language. The chief value of this lesson will 
consist in the frequent practice of the correct pronunciation of these and other 
words which teachers and students will meet, with in the course of their read- 
ing, and which fall under the several rules and exceptions here given. This 
practice will make the correct pronunciation of the words familiar, and it is the 
only truly practical method. 



SEAT OF THE ACCENT. 

1. A syllable is a word or part of a word uttered with a 
single impulse of the voice. 

2. A word of one syllable is called a monosyllable ; of two, 
a dissyllable ; of three, a trisyllable ; of more than three, a 
polysyllable. 

3. The last syllable of a word is called the ultimate ; the 
next to the last is called the penult ; the third from the last, 
the antepenult; the fourth from the last, the pre-antepenult. 

4. Of words of two syllables, nouns and adjectives gener- 
ally have the accent on the first syllable, and verbs on the 
second syllable. Examples : Nouns — abbot, comet, fossil, 
napkin, album, comma, antic, gallon, anvil, atom, linnet, 
garret, logic, basket, demon, organ, genus, bobbin. Adjec- 
tives — common, naval, lucid, dental, lurid, candid, dulcet, 
horrid, carnal, quiet, rabid, mental, rancid. Verbs — admit, 
affix, occur, impel, forbid, annex, commit, expel, concur, 
debar, excel, emit, dispel, demur, ferment, purloin. 

So general is this law that the exceptions often lead us 
into error. Examples: Nouns — morass, recess, research, 
resource, romance, address, adept, adult, ally, allies, basalt, 
compeer, contour, finance, vendue, routine, recourse. Ad- 
jectives — canine, condign, robust, verbose, occult, prolix. 
Verbs — harass, ransack, gyrate, sojourn, preface, purport, 
comment. 

Some nouns and adjectives are distinguished from verbs of 



90 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION.} 

the same spelling by this difference of accent ; as — accent, 
conduct, contract, insult, torment, concert, convict, escort, 
import, export, object, record, subject, abstract, conflict, 
protest, compound, desert, progress, project, retail, contrast, 
contest, confine, quarantine, — absent, frequent. 

5. Words of more than two syllables generally have the 
primary accent on the antepenult. Walker calls this the 
favorite accent of the language. Examples — disputant, 
hospital, industry, domicile, juvenile, crystalline, serpentine, 
coralline, centrifugal, interpolate, misanthropy, chalybeate, 
heliacal, chimerical, chirography, anachronism, simulta- 
neous, ammoniacal, reciprocity, demoniacal, interlocutor, 
homoeopathy, hypochondria, idiosyncrasy, dicotyledonous, 
trigonometrical, impracticability, monocotyledonous, valetu- 
dinarian, incommensurability, unintelligibility. 

Exceptions to this law often lead us into error, as — manu- 
mit, magazine, acclimate, defalcate, inundate, exculpate, 
exponent, condolence, opponent, hospitable, prebendary, 
formidable, cotyledon, conservator, explicable, contumely, 
despicable, nomenclature, orthoepy, orthoepist, peremptory, 
exemplary, obligatory, indisputable, indissolubly. 

6. English derivatives, or words derived from other words 
in the language, generally retain the accent of their primi- 
tives, as — mischievous, mountainous, serviceable, unhappi- 
ness, admiralty, fragmentary. 

Exceptions to this law frequently lead us astray, as — 
chastisement, comparable, disputable, lamentable, impiously, 
irreparable. 

7. Many words from the Latin and Greek, introduced 
into our language with little or no change of orthography, 
retain the classical accent. The attempt to make such 
words conform to English analogy frequently leads us into 
error. Examples — acumen, bitumen, horizon, paragoge, 
abdomen, lyceum, museum, sonorous, decorum, mausoleum. 

8. In many words of very common usage, this analogy of 
the English prevails over the classical accent, as — auditor, 
orator, minister, senator, plethora. 



ARTICULATION — PREFIXES. 91 

9. Many words derived without change of orthography 
from the French, are accented on the last syllable. Ex- 
amples — antique, bastile, bourgeois, chateau, corvette, finesse, 
giraffe, adieu, artiste, bouquet, coquette, debut, canaille, 
canard, blanc-mange, carte-blanche, depot, debris, eclat, 
encore, ennui, elite, entree, facade, machine, melee, mirage, 
monsieur, parquet, parole, parterre, penchant, physique, 
plateau, regime, soiree, sortie, surtout, sang-froid, savant, 
souvenir, tableau, tirade, vignette, vedette, vendue, amateur, 
bagatelle, coterie, connoisseur, chevalier, cuirassier, debau- 
chee, debonair, dishabille, expose, mademoiselle, millionaire, 
nonchalance, protege, reservoir, repertoire, recherche^ sobri- 
quet, solitaire, tete-a-tete, vis-a-vis. 

10. When two words are used antithetically which differ 
only or chiefly in one of their syllables, the primary accent 
is transferred to that syllable ; as, He must increase but I 
must decrease. Did you say a new addition, or a new 
edition ? Our sins of omission as well as of commission, Did 
she suspect him or expect him? 

In counting we say thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, &c, but in 
answer to a question, as, " How many dollars did you pay for 
your coat," we should answer, " Fifteen 7 ." When emphatic, 
the accent is quite evenly divided; as, "They ate fourteen 
large oysters for supper." 



XI. 
PREFIXES. 



To the Teacher. — The term " Prefixes," at the head of this lesson, Is used 
in its hroader sense, and is made to apply to the beginning of a word, to that 
part which is " fixed before," whether the word be a primitive or a derivative. 

1. The letter a, as a prefix, when not accented, is sounded 
like Italian a, slightly obscured. The sound of long a in such 



92 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

position, should be carefully avoided. Examples : — again. 
against, abaft, abash, abate, acute, adopt, alarm. 

At the end of a word or of a syllable, a, when unaccented, 
generally takes the same sound ; as, Cuba, America, algebra, 
sofa, idea, — banana, cabal, caboose, canal, canary. 

2. When hi and tri are used as prefixes, the i is usually 
long. Examples:— bicrenate, biennial, biflorous, biforate, 
bilingual, bimana, binary, binervate, binomial, biography, 
biology, bipedal, bisect, bivalvous, triad, triaiogue, tribunal, 
tricennial, triennial, trifoliate, trilemma, trilobate, trilobite, 
trimeran, trimester, trimetrical, tripartient, tripetalous, tri- 
plicily, tripod, trisect, triumvir. 

The following exceptions occur : — biforine, bitumen, bitu- 
minous, tribune, trichina, trilogy, trimeter, tripedal, triphy- 
line, trisplanchnic, trisyllable, trisyllabic. 

With change of accent, the following may be either long 
or short : — biparous, bipartite, tripartite, triphyllous. 

Webster says, " The i is usually long in the initial syllables 
i, bi, chi, dl, cri, pri, tri." 

3. Other words whose first syllable contains or ends in i 
or y are frequently mispronounced. The following require 
short i : — didactic, digest, digression, dilapidate, dimension, 
diminish, diploma, direct, divan, diverge, divert, divest, 
divulge, divide, fidelity, finance, financial, financier, miracu- 
lous, piano, piazza, pilaster, tirade, vicar, visor, hypocrisy, 
Italian, tyrannize, Tyrolese, tyromancy. 

These require long i or y: — chirography, chiropodist, 
divaricate, diverse, sinecure, siren, tiny, viscount, dioptrics, 
diurnal, tyrannic, tyrannicide, typal. 

The i or y may be either long or sbort in — dilate, dilemma, 
hilarity, minute {adjective), simultaneous, sliver, virago, viril, 
vituperate, vivacious, quinine, bison, hypothecate, hypothe- 
nuse, hypothesis, typography. 

4. The letter n in the prefix con of the following words, 
has the sound of ng : — concave, conclave, concord, concourse, 
conger, congo, congregate, congregation, congregational, con- 
gress, congruence, congruent, congruous, conquer, conqueror, 
conquest, — concrete (condor con). 



ARTICULATION — PREFIXES. V6 

But in the following, the n has its simple sound : congratu- 
late, congressional, congruity. 

5. The letter o takes the sound of short u in the following 
words and their derivatives : — bomb, bombard, bombast, 
bombazine, bomb-shell, come, comely, comfit, comfiture, 
comfort, comfrey, company, compass, conjure, some, some- 
body, somehow, something, sometimes, somewhat, some- 
where. 

6. The letter x generally has the sound of ks, but in the 
prefix of the following words and their derivatives, it is equiv- 
alent to gz : — exacerbate, exact, exaggerate, exalt, examine, 
example, exasperate, executive, executor, exemplar, exem- 
plary, exemplify, exempt, exert, exhale, exhaust, exhibit, 
exhilarate, exhort, exist, exonerate, exorbitant, exordium, 
exotic, exuberant, exude, exult. 

The sound of ks is retained in exhibition, exhortation, ex- 
cursion, exoteric. 

7. Much diversity exists among orthoepists respecting the 
sound of s in the prefix dis. Webster gives it the z sound in 
a very few words ; Worcester and Smart in a larger number. 
The following words, with their derivatives, comprise quite a 
full list :— 

Webster. Worcester. 



dis-arm 


dis-arm 


dis-able 


dis-integrate 


dis-mast 


-aster 


-aster 


-animate 


-interested 


-may 


-cern 


-cern 


-authorize 


-join 


-member 


-dain 


-dain 


-band 


-joint 


-miss 


-ease 


-ease 


-bark 


-junctive 


-mount 


-honest 


-honest 


-burse 


-like 


-order 


-honor 


'honor 


-gorge 


-lodge 


-organize 


-mal 


-mal 


-grace 


-loyal 


-relish 


-own 


-own 


-guise 


-mantle 


-robe 


-solve 


-solve 


-gust 


-mask 


-ruption 



The s is frequently incorrectly sounded like z in designate, 
desist, desolate, desolation, desultory, desuetude, desidera- 
tum. 



94 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

8. The sound of th in the prefix with, of the following words 
and their derivatives, should have the vocal quality, as dis- 
tinguished from the aspirate: — withal, withdraw, withheld, 
within, without, withstand ; also in the words with, without, 
withers, therewithal, wherewithal. Bat in the suffix with of 
the words forthwith, herewith, therewith, wherewith, the 
weight of authority is in favor of the aspirate sound. 



XII. 

TERMINATIONS. 



1. Most words ending in en drop the e in pronunciation ; 
as, fallen, stolen, swollen, often, heaven, even, given, driven, 
harden, soften, hasten, chasten, listen. 

Exceptions : 

a. After the liquids I, m, n, r; as, pollen, woolen, flamen, 
hymen, omen, women, regimen, specimen, abdomen, acumen, 
bitumen, cerumen, legumen, catechumen, linen, siren, — 
except fallen, stolen, swollen. 

b. Aspen, chicken, hyphen, kitchen, lichen, marten, 
— jerken, latten, mynchen, paten, patten, platen, rowen, 
ticken, wicken, yewen. 

c. Divided usage — Eden, bounden, heathen, mitten, 
sudden, sloven. 

2. Most words ending in el retain the e in pronunciation ; 
as, gravel, level, vessel, chapel, barrel, camel, cancel, channel, 
kennel, label, marvel, gospel, libel, hovel, novel, travel, 
tunnel, parcel, bushel, chisel, model, nickel, rebel, squirrel, 
tassel, travel. 

Exceptions : Chattel, drivel, easel, grovel, hazel, mantel, 
mussel, ravel, shekel, shovel, shrivel, snivel, swivel, teasel, 



ARTICULATION — TERMINATIONS. 95 

weasel, — barbel, betel, drazel, mispickel, mangel-wurzel, ousel, 
rivel, scovel, swingel, toggel, towsel. 

3. a. Adjectives ending in ed usually retain the e; as, 
aged, crabbed, dogged, naked, picked, cragged, crooked, 
jagged, peaked, ragged, rugged, wretched, wicked; but if Z 
with another consonant precede e, the e is suppressed; as, 
brindled, circled, dimpled, cradled, crumpled. 

A few participles used as adjectives retain the e like other 
adjectives; as, beloved, blessed, learned, winged, cursed. An 
exception is found in picked, used in the sense of selected; as, 
' a hundred picked men." 

b. Verbs and participles ending in ed usually suppress 
the e; as, beloved, blessed, learned, cursed, believed, feared, 
possessed, received. 

When the root ends in d or /, however, the e is necessarily 
retained ; as, acceded, collected, demanded, exhausted. 

c. Adverbs formed by adding hj, and nouns formed by ad- 
ding ness, to words ending in ed, retain the e; as, assuredly, 
confessedly, designedly, confusedly, renewedly, amazedness, 
composedness, blessedness. 

d. In compounds, as full-aged, sheath-winged, the e is 
suppressed. 

e. In poetry the e is often retained when, in prose, it 
would be suppressed ; as, 

In notes, 'with many a winding bout 

Of linked sweetness long drawn out. — Milton. 

/. When ed follows an aspirate or breach sound other 
than h or t, the e is suppressed, and the d takes. the sound of 
t; as, missed, passed, marked, laughed, sipped, matched, 
lashed, wished. 

4. Words ending in ine are frequently mispronounced. 

a. The following require long i: Asinine, brigandine, brig- 
antine, canine, cannabine, capitoline, carbine, celandine, 
cervine, columbine, corvine, crystalline, feline, internecine, 
leonine, muscadine, metalline, saline, saturnine, serpentine, 
sibylline, vespertine. 



96 PEACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

b. These require short i : Adamantine, benzine, bromine, 
calcimine, celestine, chlorine, clandestine, coralline, elephan- 
tine, engine, ermine, feminine, genuine, heroine, intestine, 
iodine, jasmine, masculine, morphine, nectarine, nicotine, 
paramne, pristine, rapine, strychnine, turbine, vulpine. 

c. The i may be either long or short in alkaline, aquiline, 
calcine, carmine, eglantine, infantine, saccharine, vaccine. 

d. In a few words the i is equivalent to long e ; as, guillo- 
tine, bombazine, quarantine, machine, ravine, sardine (or 
sardine). 

e. Chemical terms ending in ine and ide generally require 
short i ; as, benzoline, caseine, fibrine, fluorine, glycerine, 
lignine, margarine, oleine, stearine, bromide, chloride, 
iodide, oxide, sulphide. 

/. The i should be long in Apennine, Argentine, Palestine, 
Palatine ; short in Alexandrine, Augustine, Euxine, Jacobine, 
Philippine, Philistine, Tripoline; either long or short in 
Alpine, Aldine, Byzantine, Clementine, Florentine, Levan- 
tine ; and equivalent to long e in Algerine, Sabine. 

5. Words ending in on preceded by c, ck, s, t, and some 
other letters, often suppress the o. Examples : — bacon, bea- 
con, beckon, blazon, button, cotton, crimson, damson, dea- 
con, glutton, lesson, mason, mutton, pardon, parson, person, 
poison, prison, reason, reckon, season, treason. 

6. In the ending il the i is suppressed in evil, weevil, 
devil, and retained in cavil, civil, fossil, pencil. 

7. The i is retained in most words ending in in, but in 
basin, cousin, it is suppressed. 

8. The ending ain is generally pronounced In; as, captain, 
mountain, fountain, certain. 



ARTICULATION— UNACCENTED VOWELS. 97 

XIII. 
UNACCENTED VOWELS. 

No one need hope to have an elegant pronunciation 
without attention to the vowels in unaccented syllables, yet 
the dictionaries leave those vowels unmarked except in a 
few first syllables. Unfortunately, too few persons, even 
among students of Elocution, study with care the " Principles 
of Pronunciation " contained in the first part of the larger 
dictionaries. 

Webster says, "When an unaccented syllable ends in a 
consonant, its vowel, if single, has in strict theory, its 
regular short or shut sound, though uttered somewhat more 
faintly, or with a less proportionate force, than in an accent- 
ed syllable, as in tfs-sign', con'-dUct, con'-flict, &c. In many 
words of this class, however, the vowel is apt to suffer a 
change of its distinctive quality, passing over into some sound 
of easier utterance." The sound of it in urn, often called the 
'natural vowel,' and that of short u, are the vowel sounds of 
easiest utterance, and the sounds toward which many of the 
others tend when rendered obscure ; as, dollar, nectar, altar, 
alter, feather, nadir, tapir, zephyr, actor, mirror, — idea, sofa, 
ballad, ballast, potato, window, orphan, dismal, compass, 
parable, culpable, enemy, strategy, charity, possible, cuU'cle, 
crucible, parody, analogy, calculate, masculine, analysis. To 
pronounce these with a broad ur or uh sound, as : nectur, 
actur, ballud, puht&tuh, dismul, enuhmy, charuAty, analysis, 
&c, is a fault which all chaste speakers carefully avoid. 

The following general principles may aid the student, but 
they are too broad to be wholly relied upon : 

1. Long a, long and short e, tend toward short ?*. 

2. Short a, Italian a, intermediate a, long and short o, 
tend toward short u. 



98 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

3. Coalescents ar, er, or, and Italian a followed by r, tend 
toward ur. 

4. Long oo tends toward short oo. 

Some of these tendencies are very slight, and others are 
very marked. The degree of each it is impossible to specify ; 
it can be learned only by hearing correct articulation. To 
some of those tendencies there seem to be exceptions, and 
this serves to increase the difficulty. The following exam- 
ples will be of advantage : 

A, verging toward z. — Monday, Tuesday, mountain, certain, 
village, cabbage, orange. But in 'chocolate,' 'delicate,' ' intri- 
cate/ 'ultimate,' we have exceptions, the a verging rather 
toward short e. The same is true in 'miscellany,' 'moment- 
ary,' and other words of similar termination. In verbs end- 
ing in ate the long a sound is usually retained. 

e, verging toward z. — Genesis, remorse, elegant, society, 
enemy, coffee, college. The e in society, enemy, elegy, &c, 
is sometimes corrupted into short u. 

g, verging toward z. — Wicked, basket, riches. Here the 
proper bending is exceedingly slight. In some words, as 
poem, solemn, emblem, the e is frequently corrupted into 
short u. 

' &, verging toward u. — Palpable, culpable, mental, ballad 
cavalcade. 

a, verging toward ic. — Cuba, sofa, comma, idea. 

a, verging toward it. — Douglass, compass, cutlass, breakfast, 
distance, gallant. 

6, verging toward u. — Polite, pomade, potato, tobacco. 

6, verging toward u. — Commerce, companion, compel, 
pivot, fagot, mammoth. 

Coalescent ar, verging toward ur. — Parental, thereat, thereon, 
preparation. 

Coalescent er, verging toward ur. — Exasperate, assertion, 
conversation, perdition. 

Coalescent or, verging toward ur. — Camphor, languor, actor, 
tenor, victor, captor, reformation. 



ARTICULATION — WORDS OFTEN MISPRONOUNCED. 



99 



Italian a followed by r, verging toward ur. — Dollar, altar, 
nectar, barbarous. 

60, verging toward 06. — To-day, to-morrow, together, erudi- 
tion. 

Worcester marks vowels in unaccented syllables with a 
period or dot underneath ; Webster leaves them unmarked. 

It must be observed that Worcester employs this character 
to indicate a slight stress of voice, and not to note any par- 
ticular quality of sound, as will be seen in the follow- 
ing examples, in which the italicized vowels are thus 
marked : liar, palace, abbacy — brier, fuel — elixzr, rum — actor, 
confess — truly, mart;?/r. 



XIV. 



WORDS OFTEN MISPRONOUNCED. 



To the Teacher.— Have the student pronounce these words with a strongly 
marked accent. After the faults have been corrected, frequent repetition will 
soon fix the correct pronunciation. The lesson will also afford further practice 
in phonetic spelling. 



1. 

adverse 


horizon archangel 


chastisement 


acclimatize 


adult 


acclimate archbishop 


component 


adjectival 


allies- 


armistice archetype 


complaisance 


admirable 


archives 


adversely aspirant 


misconstrue 


aerolite 


basalt 


albumen behemoth 


arquebuse 


climacteric 


brigand 


amateur bitumen 


expurgate 


aeronaut 


address 


antarctic canorous 


plethoric 


alabaster 


adept 


contrary chivalric 


precedence 


allegorist 


assets 


aroma caloric 


circuitous 


allopathy 


canine 


colporter communist 


contumely 


applicative 



100 



PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 



2. 

ally 


composite 


pyramidal 


athenaeum 


compensative 


occult 


confident 


telegraphist 


i aureola 


conservator 


extant 


condolence 


excretory 


camelopard contumacy 


diverse 


connoisseui 


• isothermal 


capillary 


hymeneal 


contour 


coquetry 


legislative 


capitoline 


suicidal 


compeer 


' controvert 


perfunctory 


chalcedony photographer 


frontier 


corridor 


periphrasis 


coliseum 


prolocutor 


excise 


illustrate 


provocative 


combatable irrefragable 


construe lethargic 


quadrupedal comparable apotheosis 


ornate 

3. 
overt 


expletive 


approbative 


refutable 


pharmaceutist 


colportage 


i promulgate 


recitative 


allopathist 


penult 


objurgate 


sacristan 


recognizance matutinal 


portent 


sepulture 


splenetic 


reconnoissance legislature 


surnamed defalcate 


subsidence 


reparable 


mediaeval 


quinine 


enervate 


sulphuric 


receptivity 


respirable 


decade 


gondola 


tartaric 


secretory 


reciprocity 


patois 


hegira 


vehement 


secretary 


octogenary 


placard 


inquiry 


virago 


sublunary 


indicatory 


pretence 


integral 


orchestra 


officinal 


irrevocable 


recess 


overseer 


mischievous 


pedagogy 


irrefutable 



XV. 

WORDS OFTEN MISPRONOUNCED. 



To the Teacher.— The difficulties of this lesson have reference to syllabica- 
tion ; those of the last to accent. Have the student first tell the number of 
syllables in a word, and then pronounce the word firmly with that number of 
syllables. This lesson may also be used for phonetic spelling. 



1. 

ratio 


glacial 


neuralgia 


omniscient 


penitentiary 


series 


hideous 


palliative 


peculiarity 


plenipotentiary 


nuncio 


hygiene 


parhelion 


plagiarism 


amelioration 


satiate 


inertia 


pecuniary 


substantiate 


carbonaceous 


sentient 


javelin 


port-folio 


superficies 


familiarity . 



ARTICULATION — WORDS OFTEN MISPRONOUNCED. 



101 



spaniel 


jovial 


prescience 


umbrageous 


homoeopathic 


suavity 


jujube 


sociable 


allegiance 


ignominious 


tedious 


junior 


sociality 


ambrosial 


impartiality 


trivial 


ordeal 


unctuous 


ameliorate 


inconvenience 


zouave 

2. 
alien 


olio 


aphelion 


appreciate 


surveillance 


mollient 


beauteous 


associate 


magnolia 


folio 


morale 


bestiality 


auxiliary 


Christianity 


banian 


nausea 


biennial 


casualty 


discourteous 


bestial 


nauseous 


bivouac 


cerements 


fiduciary 


caisson 


nescience 


> bounteous 


i congenial 


herbaceous 


cordial 


pannier 


breviary 


convenient immediate 


fealty 


peculiar 


courteous 


convivial 


ingenious 


finale 


premier 


flageolet 


egregious 


ingratiate 


genial 


rationale 


guardian 


emollient 


ingredient 


genius 


ambrosia 


imagery 


magnesia 


initiate 



XVI. 



1. The letter b following m in the same syllable, is gen- 
erally silent, as in lamb, limb, numb, tomb, <fec, but in 
rhomb and succumb, it is retained. 

2. The sound of sh is often incorrectly made like zh in 
such words as Asia, Asiatic, nausea, nauseous, Persia, 
Persian. 

3. The sound of t in the termination tie following s is gen- 
erally suppressed ; as, apostle, epistle, thistle, whistle, bustle, 
hustle, castle, jostle. 

4. Care should be taken to preserve the aspirate or 
breath sound of th in the plurals truths, youths, breaths. In 
the plurals baths, laths, paths, moths, cloths, oaths, mouths, 
sheaths, swaths, wreaths, the th is vocal. It is also vocal in 
booth and booths, but aspirate in withe and withes. 

In the adjective forms, as, blithe, lithe, and in the verb 
forms bathe, clothe, mouth, sheathe, wreathe, &c, the th is 
vocal. 



-i-0^ PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

5. The letter a when used as an article is always given its 
long or name sound when emphatic. When unemphatic it 
becomes obscure Italian a, even verging toward short u when 
rendered very lightly. 

6. The article the, when emphatic, is pronounced with e 
long. When unemphatic before a vowel the e verges toward 
short *. Before a consonant sound, it passes through all the 
degrees of change from long e to obscure short u, according 
to the degree of emphasis. 

7. The vowel of the pronoun my, when quite unemphatic, 
may take the sound of short i. In forms of address, so fre- 
quently used by English dramatists, the short i is preferred; 
as, " My lord, the queen would speak with you, and pres- 
ently." 

8. The sound of s when followed by that of long u, or the 
pronoun you, is often incorrectly changed to sh. The sound 
of e followed by that of sh is, in like manner, changed to eh. 
The following examples may serve to illustrate these two 
faults: 'God bless you/ 'We shall miss you,' ' He will pass 
Utica/ 'As sure as you go/ ' I was sure he would come.' 

9. While care should be taken not to drop the d of the 
conjunction and, yet to sound it fully, in every instance, 
as some authors would have us do, would be the veriest 
pedantry. In uttering the word, the organs pass from the 
n position into that of d, but the power given to the latter 
sound depends greatly upon the first sound of the next 
word. To finish the d perfectly would be not only to mar 
the fluency of speech, but also to break the magnetic chain 
of thought. 

10. With all the irregularities of our language, it is not to 
be wondered at that words are frequently mispronounced. 
Many of the forms are so arbitrary, and the caprices of the 
age so numerous, that few persons can claim to be above 
criticism in the matter of pronunciation. And yet, whatever 
apology or excuse for faults we may discover in this, we . 
should be more ready to apply such excuse to others' pro- 
nunciation than to our own. 



RECREATIONS IN - ARTICULATION. 



XVII. 



RECREATIONS IN ARTICULATION. 

To the Teacher.— While many of the exercises given under " Recreations 
in Articulation" may create amusement in a class, a higher motive than 
"Amusement" has prompted their insertion. Practice is here afforded in 
nearly every form of difficult articulation. 



1. Did you say a notion or an ocean ? 

2. Bring me some ice, not some mice. 

3. Thou laid'st down and slept'st. 

4. A big black bug bit a big black bear. 

5. It will pain nobody, if the sad dangler regain neither 
rope. 

6. He crossed wastes and deserts, and wept bitterly. 

7. Life's fitful fever over, he rests well. 

8. Would that all difference of sects were at an end. 

9. Make clean our hearts. 

10. The old cold scold sold a school coal-scuttle. 

11. His beard descending swept his aged breast. 

12. Eight great gray geese grazing gaily into Greece. 

13. The cat ran up the ladder with a lump of raw liver 
in her mouth. 

14. Amos Ames, the amiable aeronaut, aided in an aerial 
enterprise at the age of eighty-eight. 

15. I battled with the waves, and stronger 
Grew, as stronger grew the gale. 



104 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

16. Thou bridl'dst thy tongue, wreath'dst thy lips with 
smiles, imprison'dst thy wrath, and truckl'dst to thine 
enemy's power. 

17. Thou reason'dst falsely, harden'dst thine heart, 
smother'dst the light of thine understanding, hearken'dst to 
the words of lying lips, and doonrdst thyself to misery. 

18. He accepts the office, and attempts ty his acts to 

conceal his faults. 

19. If he reflect, he will take prompt means to secure 
their clubs and save his ribs. 

20. When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw, 
The line, too, labors, and the words move slow ; 
Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain, 

Flies o'er the unbending corn, and skims along the 
main. 

ii. 

1. She says she shall sew a sheet. 

2. Old age has on their temples shed her silver frost. 

3. Charles Smith's Thucydides. 

4. He sawed six long, slim, sleek, slender saplings. 

5. The peevish, feeble freeman feebly fought for freedom, 

6. A rural ruler, truly rural. 

7. Don't run along the wrong lane. 

8. Oh, the torment of an ever-meddling memory ! 

9. She could pain nobody. 

10. Five wise wives w r eave withered withes. 

11. A snowy sheet, as if each surge upturned a sailor's 
shroud. 

12. Summer showers and soft sunshine shed sweet influ- 
ences on spreading shrubs and shooting seeds. 



RECREATIONS IN ARTICULATION. 105 

13. And I know that the witness which he witnesseth of 
me is true. 

14. He was attacked with spasms, and died miserably by 
the road -side. 

15. Death ravaged for months throughout the whole 
length and breadth of the land. 

16. Whelply Whewell White was a whimsical, whining, 
whispering, whittling whistler. 

17. Thirtj^-three thousand and thirty-three thoughtless 
youths thronged the thoroughfare, and thought that they 
could thwart three thousand thieves by throwing thimbles at 
them. 

18. Our eagle shall rise 'mid the whirlwinds of war, 
And dart through the dun cloud of battle, his eye. 

19. When loud surges lash the sounding shore, 

The hoarse, rough verse should like the torrent roar. 

20. Thou that dost scare the world with tempests set on 

fire, 
The heavens with falling thunderbolts, or fill 
The swift dark whirlwind that uproots the woods, 
Where is the mortal that forgets not at the sight 
Of these tremendous tokens of thy power, 
His pride, and lays his strifes and follies by ? 

in. 

1. Some shun sun-shine ; do you shun sun-shine ? 

2. She sells sea-shells ; shall he sell sea-shells? 

3. All night it lay an ice drop there. 

4. His crime moved me. 

5. The magistrates ought to arrest the rogues speedily. 

6. Laid in the cold, cold ground. 

7. As thou found'st, so thou keep'st me. 



106 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

8. He built a nice house near the lake, and shouted, 
11 Ice-cream for two young ladies." 

9. Oh, studied deceit! what a sad angler thou art! 

10. Such pretty pranks Frank's prawns play in the tanks. 

11. Kemuel Kirkham Karnes cruelly kept the kiss that 
his cousin Catharine Kennedy cried for. 

12. Thou lighten'dst his cares, strengthen'dst his nerves, 
and lengthen'dst his life. 

13. Thou lov'dst nature's wildest haunts ; thou wander'dst 
through the deepest forests, climb'dst the loftiest mountains, 
explor'dst the deepest caverns, linger'dst by the noisiest 
streams, look'dst upon the ocean, and listen'dst to its roar. 

14. Eegardless of troubles and wrongs, he curbed the anger 
of that disturbed rabble. 

15. He laughs, and quaffs his ale, knowing that the rafts 
and skiffs are on the reefs near the cliffs. 

16. Round the rough and rugged rocks the ragged rascals 
rudely ran. 

17. Then honor shall weave of the laurel a crown, 
That beauty shall bind on the brow of the brave. 

18. Beneath the booth, I found baths, cloths, laths, moths, 
sheaths, paths, and wreaths. 

19. The hidden ocean showed itself anew, 
And barren wastes still stole upon the view. 

20. Thrice six thick thistle sticks thrust straight through 
three throbbing thrushes. 

21. I said "literary, literally, literarily," not "literally, 
literary, literarily." 

22. A storm ariseth on the sea. A model vessel is struggling 
amidst the war of elements, quivering and shivering, shrink- 
ing and battling like a thinking being. The merciless, rack- 
ing whirlwinds, like frightful fiends, howl and moan, and 
send sharp, shrill shrieks through the creaking cordage, 



BECREATIONS IN ARTICULATION. 107 

snapping the sheets and masts. The sturdy sailors stand to 
their tasks, and weather the severest storm of the season. 



IV. 

1. A shot-silk sash shop. 

2. A sure sign of sunshine. 

3. Be the same in thine own act and valor. 

4. Goodness centers in the heart. 

5. Cut the pulpy pumpkin and put it in a pipkin. 

6. I said, " a knap-sack strap," not " a knap-sack's strap." 

7. Henry Hingham has hung his harp on the hook 
where he hitherto hung his hope. 

8. Thou mangl'dst his writings, trifl'dst with his affec- 
tions, and hurl'dst him from his high position. 

9. Thou kindl'dst his hopes, but robb'dst him of his 
peace ; thou blacken'dst his character, and troubl'dst his life. 

10. He reads the acts of government, and expects to learn 
the facts in the case. 

11. Directly after these accidents, numerous attempts 
were made to emigrate. 

12. Gibeon Gordon Grelglow, the great Greek gram- 
marian, graduated at Grilgrove College. 

13. Prithee, blithe youth, do not mouth your words when 
you wreathe your face with smiles. 

14. He spoke reasonably, philosophically, disinterestedly, 
and yet particularly, of the unceremoniousness of their com- 
municability, and peremptorily, authoritatively, unhesitat- 
ingly declared it to be wholly inexplicable. 

15. The laurel-crowned clown crouched cowering into 
the cupboard. 



108 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

16. His exclamation was, " Chaste stars ! " not " Chase 
tars ! " 

17. Masses of immense magnitude move majestically 
through the vast empire of the solar system. 

18. From thy throne in the sky, thou look'st and laugh'st 
at the storm, and guid'st the bolts of Jove. 

19. He had respectable talents, but was objectionable to 
the people from his want of principle, and his readiness to 
truckle to men in power. 



V. 

1. The sun shines on the shop signs. 

2. Sheba Sherman Shelly sharpened his shears and 
sheared his sheep. 

3. Benjamin Bramble Blimber, a blundering banker, bor- 
rowed the baker's birchen broom to brush the blinding cob- 
webs from his brain. 

4. That fellow shot a minnow on a willow, in the narrow 
meadow, near the yellow house. 

5. Did you say you saw the spirit sigh, or the spirit's eye, 
or the spirit's sigh ? I said I saw the spirit's eye, not the spirit 
sigh, nor the spirit's sigh. 

12. House, and the hound, and the horn, that 
belonged to the 
Farmer, that sowed the corn, that kept the 
Cock, that crowed in the morn, that waked the 
Priest all shaven and shorn, that married the 
Man all tattered and torn, that kissed the 
Maiden all forlorn, that milked the 
Cow with the crumpled horn, that tossed the 
Dog that worried the 
Cat that killed the 

3. Eat that ate the 

2. Malt that lay in the 

1. House that Jack built. 





11. 




10. 


p 


9. 


& 




+3 


8. 


xn 






7. 


'£ 


6. 


H 


5. 




4. 



RECREATIONS IN ARTICULATION. 109 

7. Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sift- 
ing a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three thousand this- 
tles through the thick of his thumb. Now if Theophilus This- 
tle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted 
thistles, thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of 
his thumb, see that thou, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted 
thistles, thrust not three thousand thistles through the thick 
of thy thumb. Success to the successful thistle sifter. 

8. A day or two ago, during a lull in business, two little 
boot-blacks, one white and one black, were standing at the 
corners doing nothing, when the white boot-black agreed to 
black the black boot-black's boots. The black boot-black 
was of course willing to have his boots blacked by his fellow 
boot-black, and the boot-black who had agreed to black the 
black boot-black's boots went to work. 

When the boot-black had blacked one of the black boot- 
black's boots till it shone in a manner that would make any 
boot-black proud, this boot-black who had agreed to black 
the black boot-black's boots refused to black the other boot 
of the black boot-black until the black boot-black, who had 
consented to have the white boot-black black his boots, 
should add five cents to the amount the white boot-black 
had made blacking other men's boots. This the boot-black 
whose boot had been blacked refused to do, saying it was 
good enough for a black boot-black to have one boot blacked, 
and he didn't care whether the boot that the white boot- 
black hadn't blacked was blacked or not. 

This made the boot-black who had blacked the black boot- 
black's boot as angry as a boot-black often gets, and he 
vented his black wrath by spitting upon the blacked boot 
of the black boot-black. This roused the latent passions of 
the black boot-black, and he proceeded to boot the white 
boot-black with the boot which the white boot-black had 
blacked. A fight ensued, in which the white boot-black who 
had refused to black the unblacked boot of the black boot- 
black blacked the black boot-black's visionary organ, and 
in which the black boot-black wore all the blacking off his 
blacked boot in booting the white boot-black. 



VI. 

Shrewd Simon Short sewed shoes. Seventeen summers' 
storms and sunshine, saw Simon's small, shabby shop stand- 
ing staunch, saw Simon's self-same sign still swinging 



110 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

silently specifying: " Simon Short, Smithfield's sole surviv- 
ing shoemaker. Shoes sewed and soled superfinely." 
Simon's spry sedulous spouse, Sally Short, sewed shirts, 
stitched sheets, and stuffed sofas. Simon's six stout sturdy 
sons— Seth, Samuel, Stephen, Saul, Shadrach and Silas, sold 
sundries. Sober Seth sold sugar, starch, spices ; simple Sam 
sold saddles, stirrups, screws ; sagacious Stephen sold silks, 
satins, shawls ; skeptical Saul sold silver salvers, silver 
spoons; selfish Shadrach sold shoe strings, soaps, saws, 
skates ; slack Silas sold Sally Short's stuffed sofas. 

Some seven summers since, Simon's second son, Samuel, 
saw Sophia Sophronia Spriggs somewhere. Sweet, sensible, 
smart Sophia Sophronia Spriggs ! Sam soon showed strange 
symptoms. Sam seldom stayed at the store selling saddles, but 
sighed sorrowfully, sought Sophia Sophronia's society, sang 
several serenades slily. Simon stormed, scolded severely, 
said Sam seemed so silly, singing such shameful, senseless 
songs. 

" Strange Sam should slight such splendid summer sales," 
said Simon. "Strutting spendthrift! shatter-brained sim- 
pleton ! " 

" Softly, softly, sire " said Sally ; " Sam's smitten — Sam's 
spied a sweetheart." 

" Sentimental schoolboy ! " snarled Simon ; " Smitten ! Stop 
such stuff!" 

Simon sent Sally's snuff-box spinning, seized Sally's scis- 
sors, smashed Sally's spectacles, and scattered several spools. 
"Sneaking scoundrel! Sam's shocking silliness shall sur- 
cease ! " Scowling Simon stopped speaking, starting swiftly 
shopward. Sally sighed sadly. Summoning Sam she spoke 
sweet sympathy. 

" Sam," said she, "sire seems singularly snappy : so, son, 
stop strolling, stop smoking segars and spending specie super- 
fluously; stop sprucing so; stop singing serenades, — stop 
short : sell saddles, son ; sell saddles sensibly ; see Sophia 
Sophronia Spriggs soon; she's sprightly, she's staple, so 
solicit and secure Sophia speedily, Sam." 

" So soon ? so soon? " said Sam, standing stock still. 
"So soon ! surely," said Sally, smiling, "specially since sire 
shows such spirit." 

So Sam, somewhat scared, sauntered slowly, shaking stu- 
pendously. Sam soliloquizes : 

" Sophia Sophronia Spriggs Short — Sophia Sophronia 
Short, Samuel Short's spouse— sounds splendid! Suppose 
she should say — she sha'n't ! " 

Soon Sam spied Sophia starching shirts and singing softly. 



RECREATIONS IN ARTICULATION. Ill 

Seeing Sam she stopped starching and saluted Sam smilingly. 
Sam stammered shockingly : 

" Sp-sp-splendid summer season, Sophia." 

" Somewhat sultry," suggested Sophia. 

" Sar-sartin, Sophia," said Sam. (Silence seventeen sec- 
onds.) 

" Selling saddles still, Sam ? " 

" Sar sar-sartin," said Sam, starting suddenly. " Season's 
somewhat soporific," said Sam, stealthily staunching stream- 
ing sweat, shaking sensibly. 

"Sartin," said Sophia, smiling significantly. "Sip some 
sweet sherbet, Sam." (Silence sixty seconds.) 

" Sire shot sixty sheldrakes, Saturday," said Sophia. 

" Sixty ? sho ! " said Sam. (Silence seventy-seven sec- 
onds.) 

" See sister Susan's sunflowers," said Sophia, sociably scat- 
tering such stiff silence. 

Sophia's sprightly sauciness stimulated Sam strangely : so 
Sam suddenly spoke sentimentally : " Sophia, Susan's sun- 
flowers seem saying, " Samuel Short and Sophia Sophronia 
Spriggs, stroll serenely and seek some sequestered spot, some 
sylvan shade. Some sparkling spring shall sing soul-sooth- 
ing strains; sweet songsters shall silence secret sighing; 
super-angelic sylphs shall — ' " 

Sophia snickered : so Sam stopped. 

" Sophia," said Sam, solemnly. 

" Sam," said Sophia. 

" Sophia, stop smiling. Sam Short's sincere. Sam's seek- 
ing some sweet spouse, Sophia. Speak, Sophia, speak ! 
Such suspense speeds sorrow." 

" Seek sire, Sam, seek sire." 

So Sam sought sire Spriggs. Sire Sprigs said, "Sartin." 

Seven short sabbaths later saw Sophia Sophronia Spriggs 
the smiling spouse of Simon Short's son Samuel. 



EXPRESSION. 



True Expression consists in the most natural and effective 
giving out of sentiment or emotion. It may be by form, 
color, language, movement, or sound. 

In Elocution, correct Expression relates to those adapta- 
tions of the human voice necessary to convey the meaning 
and spirit of the author. It involves a proper use of all the 
physical organs, but only becomes effective through the exer- 
cise of the intellectual and emotional faculties. Appropriate 
expression constitutes the soul power of spoken language. 

The word signifies giving out, and therefore presupposes 
something within. Hence it is of first importance to the Ex- 
pression of a thought that the speaker have within him the 
thought to be expressed. 

To this end he should make a thorough analysis of the 
language, and should answer for himself such questions as 
the following: What is the prevailing thought in the pas- 
sage? What are the subordinate thoughts, and how are 
they related to the prevailing thought? Is any part of the 
sentence merely incidental to the main sentence, and how 
near or distant is the relation? What was the probable 
state of the author's mind when he expressed the thought? 
What were the circumstances which called it forth? 
How should you feel, and how would you have expressed the 
same sentiment, had the same circumstances moved you? 

The mind will thus be led to a full and just comprehension of 
the sentiment, and a sympathy will be awakened. A compre- 
hension of the thought will render it intelligent in its expres 
sion. Sympathy with the thought will give spirit to the ex- 
pression. Let the student ever keep in mind that no skill of 
112 



EXPRESSION — MODULATION. 113 

art can substitute for intelligence and spirit in oral expression. 

It is, however, yet necessary that the utterance be under 
such control that it may be made to harmonize "with all 
the infinite lights and shades of thought. True expression 
should be carefully distinguished from mere fervor of spirit 
and emotional violence. It is infinitely more than this; it is 
spirit put under law. It is power under control. Herein con- 
sists the art of adaptation. The three great essentials, then, 
which every speaker should keep before him, are compre- 
hension, sympathy, adaptation. 

The changes of voice necessary to expression constitute 
the modulations of speech. 



MODULATION. 

Modulation consists in the adaptation of speech to the 
sentiment it is designed to convey. The various changes or 
modulations are quality, pitch, force, time, and slides, or in- 
flections. 

QUALITY. 

Note.— Quality concerns the kind of voice and its relation to the kind or 
quality of sentiment. It has been fully treated as an element of vocal culture 
in its proper place under that head, though its practical application, as an 
element of expression, belongs to Modulation. For discussion and exercises, see 
page 59. 

PITCH. 

Pitch relates to the High and Low of the voice. 

Note.— Although the different degrees of Pitch are determined by the musical 
scale, the changes are usually produced by slide, while in music they are usually 
produced by steps. 

Pitch, like the other modulations, must be found in the 
sentiment. There is up and down in thought and feeling. 
Joy and victory are up. Melancholy and awe are down. To 
respond to these qualities of sentiment, the sense must be 
quick to perceive, and the voice must be capable of prompt 
and graceful change, either by slide or step. 



114 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

The different degrees of Pitch are produced by the differ- 
ent degrees of tension of the vocal cords. 

Natural or unemotional sentiment will leave the vocal cords in 
their most natural condition, and they will produce a natural 
or medium tone. 

Exaltation of spirit will cause a tension of the vocal cords, 
and they will produce a correspondingly high tone. 

Depression of spirit will cause the vocal cords to relax, and 
the tone will be low. 

There are, therefore, in Elocution, three natural divisions 
of Pitch, — Medium, High, and Low. From these, other divi- 
sions may be made. 

Note 1. — Each of these divisions must necessarily cover a range or variety of 
sentiment. When the student is satisfied that the sentiment belongs to the 
medium range, or the high or low range, he is likely to adapt the changes 
-within that range more gracefully and less mechanically than if he adapts his 
Pitch too strictly to the musical scale. By the latter method he is liable to 
speak by the musical tones rather than by the speaking tones. 

Note 2.— The student should most carefully guard the quality of the tone in 
the practice of the High and Low extremes. 

Language of Medium Pitch. — Unemotional language, such 
as ordinary conversation, simple narration, and plain 
description, and all language of natural full force, should be 
expressed within the range of Medium Pitch. 

Language of High Pitch. — Passages of calling, command, 
gayety, joy, victory, and extreme grief, are expressed within 
the range of High Pitch. 

Language of Low Pitch. — Melancholy, reverence, awe, 
despair, and language of the supernatural, are expressed 
within the range of Low Pitch. 



EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE. 

VARIETIES OF MEDIUM PITCH. 

1. The city and republic of Carthage were destroyed by 
the termination of the third Punic war, about one hundred 
and fifty years before Christ. 



EXPRESSION— EXAMPLES OP HIGH PITCH. 115 

2. We must educate ! We must educate ! or we must 
perish by our own prosperity. If we do not, short from the 
cradle to the grave will be our race. — Lyman Beecher. 

3. Blessed are the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy. 
Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see God. Blessed 
are the peacemakers : for they shall be called the children of 
God.— Bible. 

4. Up from the meadows rich with corn, 
Clear in the cool September morn, 
The clustered spires of Frederick stand 
Green-walled by the hills of Maryland. 

—J. G. Whittier. 

5. So through the night rode Paul Eevere ; 

And so through the night went his cry of alarm 

To every Middlesex village and farm — 

A cry of defiance and not of fear. 

A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door, 

And a word that shall echo forevermore ! 

For, borne on the night wind of the Past, 

Through all our history to the last, 

In the hour of darkness, and peril, and need. 

The people will waken and listen to hear 

The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed, 

And the midnight message of Paul Revere. 

— H. W. Longfellow. 

For selections containing additional examples of Medium 
Pitch, see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 4, pages 19 and 137 ; 
No. 5, pages 135 and 138. 

VARIETIES OF HIGH PITCH. 

1. Half a league, half a league, 

Half a league onward, 
All in the valley of death 
Rode the six hundred. 

" Forward, the Light Brigade ! 
Charge for the guns ! " he said : 
Into the valley of Death 
Bode the six hundred. 

— Tennyson. 



116 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

2. I come ! I come ! — ye have called me long : 

I come o'er the mountains with light and song! 
Ye may-trace my step o'er the wakening earth, 
By the winds which tell of the violet's birth, 
By the primrose stars in the shadowy grass, 
By the green leaves opening as I pass. 

— Mrs. Hemans. 

3. " Young men, ahoy ! " 
"What is it?" 

" Beware ! beware ! The rapids are below you ! " 
" See how fast you pass that point ! Up with the 
helm ! Now turn ! Pull hard ! Quick ! quick ! quick ! 
pull for your lives ! pull till the blood starts from your nos- 
trils, and the veins stand like whip-cords on your brow ! " 

— John B. Gough. 

4. Go ring the bells and fire the guns, 

And fling the starry banners out ; 
Shout " Freedom ! " till your lisping ones 
Give back their cradle shout. 



5. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth : make 
a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto the Lord 
with the harp; with the harp and the voice of a psalm. 
With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise be- 
fore the Lord, the King. Let the sea roar, and the full- 
ness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 

Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful 
together before the Lord ; for he cometh to judge the 
earth : with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the 
people with equity. — Bible. 

6. They strike ! hurrah ! the fort has surrendered ! 
Shout ! shout ! my warrior boy, 

And wave your cap, and clap your hands for joy. 
Cheer answer cheer, and bear the cheer about. 
Hurrah ! hurrah ! for the fiery fort is ours. 
" Victory ! victory ! victory ! " 
Is the shout. 
Shout for the fiery fort is ours, and the field 
And the day are ours ! 

For selections containing additional examples of High 



EXPRESSION— EXAMPLES OF LOW PITCH. 117 

Pitch, see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 1, page 148 ; No. 2, page 
123; No. 3, page 147. 

VARIETIES OF LOW PITCH. 



1. 'Tis midnight's holy hour, — and silence now 

Is brooding like a gentle spirit o'er 
The still and pulseless world. Hark ! on the winds 
The bell's deep tones are swelling — 'tis the knell 
Of the departed year. 

— Geo. D. Prentice. 

2. So live, that when thy summons comes to join 
The innumerable caravan that moves 

To that mysterious realm, where each shall take 
His chamber in the silent halls of death, 
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night, 
Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed 
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams. 

— William Cullen Bryant. 

3. Your sorrows, O people, are his peace ! Your bells and 
bands, and muffled drums sound triumph in his ear. Wail 
and weep here ! Pass on ! — Beecher. 

4. My father's spirit in arms ! all is not well ; 

I doubt some foul play : would the night were come ! 
Till then sit still, my soul : Foul deeds will rise, 
Though all the earth o'erwhelms them, to men's eyes. 

— Shakspeare. 

5. In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep 
sleep falleth on men, fear came upon me, and trembling, 
which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed 
before my face ; the hair of my flesh stood up : it stood still, 
but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before 
mine eyes; there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, 
Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be 
more pure than his maker ? — Bible. 

For selections containing additional examples of Low 



118 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION". 

Pitch, see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 2, page 40 ; No. 3, pages 
9 and 126. 

FORCE. 

Force relates to the Loud and Soft of the voice. 

The Force of speech must be regulated by the intensity of 
the emotion which the sentiment inspires. We think and 
feel with different degrees of intensity. We should speak 
with corresponding degrees of Force. 

The changes of Force are produced by the different degrees 
of power with which the breath is applied upon the vocal 
cords. 

The student should not mistake mere noise or physical ex- 
ertion for Force. True Force includes the idea of moral 
power, and is often more manifest in a certain stateliness or 
majesty of tone than in great exhibition of voice and man- 
ner. It is the result of a uniform intensity of the whole 
being, and of such a repose as will reflect reserve power, 
which is, after all, the truest Force. 

The student is especially cautioned against the substitution 
of Pitch for Force. This is probably the most common error 
known to public speakers. The moral force of a passage or a 
discourse is often entirely neutralized by elevating the 
Pitch. Changes of Force should be made without change of 
Pitch unless the peculiar character of the thought requires 
both. 

Cultivation in Force follows the general principle laid 
down by all true elocutionary training, that it begins with pure 
conversation. The most natural Force is that which the culti- 
vated voice takes most readily in conversational utterance. In 
its relation to loud and soft it always approaches a medium be- 
tween the two extremes, and is therefore most appropriately 
called Medium Force. From this the student may readily 
pass to the extremes of Full arid Subdued. 

Language of Medium Force. — Unemotional language, or 
language of ordinary conversation, simple narration, and 



EXPRESSION — EXAMPLES OF MEDIUM FORCE. 119 

plain description, is expressed within the different degrees of 
Medium Force. 

Language of Full Force. — Passages of defiance and 
anger, bold, declamatory utterances, shouting, calling and 
rejoicing, require Full Force. 

Language of Subdued Force. — Sentiments of tenderness, 
quiet, pathos, melancholy, reverence and awe, should be 
uttered with Subdued Force. 



EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE. 



VARIETIES of medium force. 



1. I grieve for life's bright promise, just shown and then 

withdrawn ; 
But still the sun shines round me , the evening bird 

sings on, 
And I again am soothed, and, beside the ancient gate, 
In this soft evening sunlight, I calmly stand and wait. 

2. Miss Kindly is aunt to everybody, and has been so 
long that none remember to the contrary. The little chil- 
dren love her; she helped their grandmothers to bridal orna- 
ments three-score years ago. — Parker. 

3. And there shall be no night there ; and they need 
no candle, neither light of the snn ; for the Lord God giveth 
them light : and they shall reign for ever and ever. — Bible. 

4. If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, 
chapels had been churches, and poor men's cottages, princes' 
palaces. It is a good divine that follows his own instructions. 
I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done, than 
be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching. The 
brain may devise laws for the blood ; but a hot temper leaps 
over a cold decree. — Shakspeare. 

5. Young Lochinvar is come out of the West ! 
Through all the wide border his steed was the best ; 



120 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

And save his good broadsword he weapons had none ; 
He rode all unarmed and he rode all alone. 
So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war, 
There never was knight like the young Lochinvar. 

— Scott. 

For selections containing additional examples of Medium 
Force, see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 2, page 152 ; No. 3, page 

n. 

VARIETIES OP FULL FORCE. 



1. Were I an American, as I am an Englishman, while a 
single foreign troop remained in my country, I would never 
lay down my arms. Never ! never I never \—^Pitt. 

2. Then the earth shook and trembled ; the foundations also 
of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. 
There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of 
his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. He bowed 
the heavens also, and came down : and darkness was under 
his feet. — Bible. 



3. Then soon he rose ; the prayer was strong ; 
The Psalm was warrior David's song ; 

The text, a few short words of might — 
"The Lord of Hosts shall arm the right ! " 
He spoke of wrongs too long endured, • 
Of sacred rights to be secured ; 

Then from his patriot tongue of flame 
The startling words of freedom came. 
The stirring sentences he spake 
Compelled tie heart to glow or quake, 
And, rising on the theme's broad wing, 

And grasping in his nervous hand 

The imaginary battle-brand, 
In face of death he dared to fling 
Defiance to a tyrant king. — T. B. Read. 

4. Our fathers raised their flag against a power to which, 
for purposes of foreign conquest and subjugation, Rome, in 
the height of her glory, is not to be compared — a power which 



EXPRESSION— EXAMPLES OF SUBDUED FORCE. 121 

has dotted the surface of the whole globe with her posses- 
sions and military posts ; whose morning drumbeat, follow- 
ing the sun in its course and keeping pace with the hours, 
circles the earth with one continuous and unbroken strain of 
the martial airs of England. — Daniel Webster. 



5. Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition ; 
By that sin fell the angels; how can man then, 
The image of his Maker, hope to win by 't ? 
Love thyself last : cherish those hearts that hate thee : 
Corruption wins not more than honesty. 
* * * * * Be just, and fear not 
Let all the ends thou aim'st at, be thy country's, 
Thy God's, and Truth's ; then if thou fall'st, O Crom- 
well, 
Thou fall'st a blessed martyr. — Shakspeare. 

For selections containing additional examples of Full 
Force, see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 1, page 94 j No. 3, pages 
64 and 124 ; No. 4, page 45. 



VARIETIES OF SUBDUED FORCE, 

1. sweet and strange it seems to me, that ere this day 

is done, 
The voice that now is speaking, may be beyond the 

sim — 
Forever and forever, — all in a blessed home — 
And there to wait a little while, till you and Erne 

come — 
To lie within the light of God, as I lie upon your 

breast — 
And the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary 

are at rest. — Tennyson. 

2 And, friends, dear friends, when it shall be 

That this low breath is gone from me, 
And round my bier ye come to weep, 
Let one, most loving of you all, 
Say, " Not a tear must o'er her fall; 
He giveth His beloved, sleep." 

—Mrs. Browning, 



122 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

3. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord 
pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame ; he 
remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as 
grass ; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth : For the 
wind passeth over it, and it is gone ; and the place thereof 
shall know it no more.— Bible. 

4. But while she # was still very young, — O very, very 
young, — the sister drooped, and came to be so weak that she 
could no longer stand in the window at night ; and then the 
child looked sadly out by himself, and when he saw the star, 
turned round and said to the patient, pale face on the bed, " I 
see the star ! " and then a smile would come upon the face, 
and a little, weak voice used to say, " God bless my brother 
and the star ! " — Dickens. 

5. - father abbot 

An old man broken with the storms of state, 

Is come to lay his weary bones among ye ; 

Give him a little earth for charity ! " 

So went to bed : where eagerly his sickness 

Pursued him still : and, three nights after this, 

About the hour of ei^ht (which he himself 

Foretold should be his last), full oi repentance, 

Continual meditations, tears, and sorrows, 

He gave his honors to the world again, 

His blessed part to heaven, and slept in peace. 

— Shakspeare. 

For selections containing additional examples of Subdued 
Force, see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 5, page 112 > g No. 6, 
pages 104 and 105. 

TIME. 

Time has reference to the Fast and Slow of speech. 

Sentiment has in it the quality of movement, and requires 
a corresponding quality in the expression. 

Changes of time are as indispensable to variety, as changes 
of Pitch and Force. Many speakers give proper attention to 
the latter, slide skillfully, and use appropriate quality, who are 
yet monotonous, owing to uniformity of Time. They move 



EXPRESSION — EXAMPLES OF MEDIUM RATE. 123 

through melancholy and gayety, the dirge and the battle, at 
the same degree of speed : or their individual words have 
merely the Time necessary to their pronunciation, or the 
pauses are measured, rather than adapted, or it may be that 
in all of these conditions, the Time is set and formal, so 
that the expression falls upon the ear with painful monotony. 

Appropriate changes of Time also reflect self-control, show- 
ing that slow or rapid utterance is not the result of tem- 
perament, or of an excited condition of the speaker, but that 
they are his servants, to be used according to his need. 

Time is divided into Rate, Quantity, Pause. 

RATE. 

Time, as applied to a collection of words, is called Rate. 

The natural divisions of Rate, are Medium, Fast, and Slow, 
from which other divisions may be made. 

Language of Medium Rate. — The various styles of unim- 
passioned discourse should be expressed within the varieties 
of Medium Rate. 

Language of Rapid Rate. — Sentiments of gayety and joy, 
and language indicating hasty action or rapid change of 
scene, should be expressed in Rapid Rate. 

Language of Slow Rate. — Descriptions of slow move- 
ment and sentiments of solemnity, reverence, awe, melan- 
choly, and despair, should be expressed in Slow Rate. 



EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE. 

varieties of medium rate. 



1. Maud Muller, on a summer's day, 
Raked the meadow, sweet with hay. 

— Whittier. 

2. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, 
and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a 
tinkling cymbal— -Bible*. 



124 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

3. She thanked me, and bade me if I had a friend that 
loved her, I should but teach him how to tell my story, and 
that would woo her. — Shakspeare. 

4. To make men patriots, to make men Christians, to 
make men the sons of God, let all the doors of heaven be 
opened, and let God drop down charmed gifts — winged im- 
aginations, all-perceiving reason, and all-judging reason. 
Whatever there is that can make men wiser and better — let 
it descend upon the head of him who has consecrated him- 
self to the work of mankind, and who has made himself an 
orator for man's sake and for God's sake. — H. W. Beecher. 

For selections containing additional examples of Medium 
Rate, see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 1, page 101 ; No. 2, page 
117 ; No. 3, page 42 ; No. 6, page 171. 



VARIETIES OF RAPID RATE. 

1. A hurry of hoofs in a village street, 

A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark, 
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark 
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet; 
That was all ! — Longfellow. 

2. A cannon which breaks its moorings becomes abruptly 
some indescribable, supernatural beast. It is a machine 
which transforms itself into a monster. This mass runs on 
its wheels, like billiard-balls, inclines with the rolling, 
plunges with the pitching, goes, comes, stops, seems to medi- 
tate, resumes its course, shoots from one end of the ship to 
the other like an arrow, whirls, steals away, evades, prances, 
strikes, breaks, kills, exterminates. — Victor Hugo. 

3. Never, never : Come away, away ; 
We'll burn his body in the holy place, 

And with the brands fire the traitor's houses I 
Take up the body. — Shakspeare. 

4. I chatter, chatter, as I flow 

To join the brimming river, 
For men may come, and men may go, 
But I go on forever. — Tennyson. 



EXPRESSION — EXAMPLES OF SLOW RATE. 125 

5. So light to the croup the fair lady he swung, 
So light to the saddle before her he sprung ; 
" She is won ! we are gone, over bank, bush, and scaur ; 
They'll have fleet steeds that follow ! " quoth young 
Lochinvar. — Scott. 

For selections containing additional examples of Rapid 
Rate, see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 2, page 17; No. 3, page 
15 ; No. 6, page 17. 



VARIETIES OF SLOW RATE. 

1. And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting 
On the pallid bust of Pallas, just above my chamber-door ; 
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is 

dreaming, 
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow 

on the floor ; 
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on 

the floor 
Shall be lifted — nevermore l—Poe. 

2. Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the 
earth, who hast set Thy glory above the heavens. When I 
consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers ; the moon 
and the stars, which Thou hast ordained ; what is man that 
Thou art mindful of him ? and the son of man, that Thou 
visitest him ? For Thou hast made him a little lower than 
the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. 
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy 
hands : Thou hast put all things under his feet. Oh Lord, 
our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth. 

— Bible. 

3. Hear the tolling of the bells — 
Iron bells ! 
What a world of solemn thought their monody compels ! 
In the silence of the night 
How we shiver with affright 
At the melancholy menace of their tone. 
For every sound that floats 
From the rust within their throats 
Is a groan. — Poe, 



126 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION". 

4. The hours pass slowly by— nine, ten, eleven — how 
solemnly the last stroke of the clock floats out upon the still 
air. It dies gently away, swells out again in the distance, 
and seems to Le caught up by spirit- voices of departed years, 
until the air is filled with melancholy strains. It is the re- 
quiem of the dying year. 

Tenderly, mournfully it lingers upon the ear and sinks 
into the heart ; slowly and softly it dies away. The clock 
strikes twelve; the grave opens and closes, and the old year 
is buried. — Brooks. 

5. To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow 
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, 
To the last syllable of recorded time. 

— Shakspeare. 

For selections containing additional examples of Slow 
Rate, see Elocutionist's Annual, No. 1, page 105 ; No. 2, page 
150 j No. 3, page 153. 



COMBINATION EXERCISE. 



PITCH. 


FORCE. 


RATE; 


High. 


Full. 


Fast. 


Medium. 


Medium. 


Medium. 


Low. 


Subdued. 


Slow. 



To the Teacher.— -The above formula should be placed on the blackboard. 
Announce a sentence,— for example: "O ye hard hearts! ye cruel men of 
Rome!'' and beginning with Mtdium Pitch, practice the student on the 
Medium and the extremes until he can make the changes with promptness and 
accuracy. Follow this with a similar exercise in Force and in Rate. When he 
has mastered these changes in their individual application, the exercise may be 
made more difficult by combining them according to the following : 

Illustration. — Ask the class to utter the sentence, " O ye hard hearts, ye 
cruel men of Rome ! " in Medium Pitch, Medium Force, and Medium Time. 
After proper explanation, point from one to another of the different degrees of 
the different modulations. You may point „to Full, under Force. The student 
or class should give the sentence as before in Pitch and Rate, but change the 
Force to Full. You may then point to Slow, under Rate. The class should 



EXPRESSION— EXAMPLES OF MEDIUM QUANTITY. 127 

retain the Full Force as at the preceding exercise, also Medium Pitch, as it has 
not yet been changed, but change the Rate to Slow. These changes may be 
continued indefinitely, and cannot fail to give flexibility to the voice, and the 
capability of a ready adaptation in response to the changes of sentiment. 



QUANTITY. 

Quantity is time upon words. 

"Words stand for ideas, and according to the nature of the 
idea to which the word refers, it is prolonged or shortened. 
The word " long " should receive more length of time than 
" short," though the latter contains more letters. " Cut " and 
" saw " should be pronounced according to the several ac- 
tions they represent. Reversed in time, they will fail to 
represent their respective meanings. 

Appropriate Quantity contributes greatly to the relative 
importance of the words in a sentence. 

Quantity may be Medium, Long, or Short. 

Words possessing no marked significance are uttered in 
Medium Quantity. 

Words of dignity and strength require Long Quantity. 

Words of impatience, stubbornness, and of sudden action, 
require Short Quantity. 



EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE. 

VARIETIES OF MEDIUM QUANTITY. 

1. Consider the lilies how they grow ; they toil not, they 
spin not, and yet I say unto you that Solomon in all his 
glory was not arrayed like one of these. — Bible. 

2. What's in a name ? That which we call a rose, by any 
other name would smell as sweet. — Shakspeare. 

3. I own a mule. It is the first mule I ever had, and will 
be the last one. My mind is my mule. — Growl. 



128 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

VARIETIES OF LONG QUANTITY. 

1. O Death ! where is thy sting ? 

O Grave ! where is thy victory? 



-Bible. 



2. O the long and dreary Winter ! 

O the cold and cruel Winter ! 
Ever thicker, thicker, thicker 
Froze the ice on lake and river ; 
Ever deeper, deeper, deeper 
Fell the snow o'er all the landscape, 
Fell the covering snow, and drifted 
Through the forest, round the village. 

— Longfellow. 

8. To die — to sleep, — 

No more ! — and, by a sleep, to say we end 

The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks 

That flesh is heir to, — 'tis a consummation 

Devoutly to be wished. To die, — to sleep ; — 

To sleep ! — perchance to dream — aye, there's the rub ! 

For, in that sleep of death, what dreams may come, 

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, 

Must give us pause ! — Shakspeare. 

4. lonely tomb in Moab's land ! 

dark Beth-peor's hill ! 
Speak to these curious hearts of ours, 

And teach them to be still. 
God hath his mysteries of grace, — 

Ways that we cannot tell ; 
He hides them deep, like the secret sleep 
Of him he loved so well. 

— C. F. Alexander. 

VARIETIES OF SHORT QUANTITY. 

1. I can as well be hanged, as tell the manner of it : it 
was mere foolery. I 'did not mark it. I saw Mark Antony 
offer him a crown ; — yet t'was not a crown neither, t'was one 
of these coronets, — and, as I told you, he put it by once ; but 
for all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it. Then 
he offered it to him again ; then he put it by again ; but, to 
my thinking, he was very loath to lay his fingers off it. And 



EXPRESSION— EXAMPLES OP RHETORICAL PAUSE. 129 

then he offered it a third time ; he put it the third time by : 
and still as he refused it, the rabblement hooted, and clapped 
their chapped hands, and threw up their sweaty night-caps, 
and uttered such a deal of stinking breath, because Csesar re- 
fused the crown, that it had almost choked Csesar ; for he 
swooned, and fell down at it. — Shakspeare. 

2. " Quit the bust above my door ! 

Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form 
from off my door ! " — Poe. 

3. And he answering, said to his father, Lo, these many 
years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy 
commandment; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I 
might make merry with my friends. — Bible. 



PAUSE. 

A pause is an interval of time between words. 

There are two divisions of Pause, Grammatical and Rhe- 
torical. 

The Grammatical Pause is designed mainly as a guide to the 
author's meaning, and the author's meaning should indicate 
the character and length of the Pause. 

The Rhetorical Pause marks the special separation of 
words as reflected by the general thought of the author, but 
which is not marked by the Grammatical Pause. The Ehe- 
torical Pause gives a peculiar force to the words which precede 
or follow it. It also indicates present action of the mind, 
giving to speech the effect of freshness and originality. The 
Rhetorical Pause is greatly varied in its application ; and in 
length, passes through every conceivable period of time, 
from the almost spiritual separation of words, to that of a 
short Grammatical Pause. 

EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE. 

EXAMPLES OF RHETORICAL PAUSE. 

1. In slumbers of midnight the sailor boy lay, 

His hammock swung loose at the sport of the wind, 



130 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

But watch-worn and weary, his cares flew away, 
And visions of happiness danced o'er his mind. 

— Dimond. 

2. It is more blessed to give than to receive. — Bible. 

3. Add to your faith virtue ; and to virtue "knowledge ; 
and to knowledge temperance ; and to temperance patience. 

— Bible. 

4. With deep affection 

And recollection 
I often think of 

Those Shandon bells, 
"Whose sounds so wild would, 
In the days of childhood, 
Fling round my cradle 

Their magic spells. — Francis Mahony. 

The Rhetorical Pause frequently unites with the Gram- 
matical, taking from, or adding to, the time of the Grammati- 
cal Pause. 



EXAMPLES. 

1. " It must be so — Plato, thou reasonest well ! — ■ 

Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire, 

This longing after immortality ? 

Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror, 

Of falling into naught? Why shrinks the soul 

Back on herself, and startles at destruction? 

'Tis the divinity that stirs within us ; 

Tis heaven itself, that points out an hereafter, 

And intimates eternity to man." — Addison. 

2. Pause a moment. I heard a footstep. Listen now. I 
heard it again ; but it is going from. us. It sounds fainter, — 
still fainter. It is gone. 

3. John, be quick. Get some water. Throw the powder 
overboard. " It can not be reached." Jump into the boat, 
then. Shove off. There goes the powder. Thank heaven. 
We are safe. 



EXPRESSION— EXAMPLES OF SLIDES. 131 

SLIDES. 

The Slide is a change of pitch upon a word. 

Slides are upward and downward. 

The Upward and Downward Slides may be united. They 
then are known as the Wave or Circumflex. 

The lights and shades of thought which cannot be ex- 
pressed by the changes of Quality, Pitch, Force, or Time, are 
gathered up by the slide, and the expression is rendered com- 
plete. 

The slides of the voice contribute, most of all the modu- 
lations, to the accuracy of speech. The mind of the hearer is 
turned from the general thought and conducted by the 
Slide to the individual ideas which may enter into a sen- 
tence. 

The Slide also gives emphasis to the peculiar sentiment or 
feeling which calls it forth. In view of its effect, therefore, 
upon the accuracy and the emphasis of speech, the Slide may be 
regarded as the crowning power of expression. 

It is of constantly changing degree, according to the char- 
acter or intensity of sentiment. Its simplest form is the 
change of a single tone, and its most intense, that of the 
octave or eight tones. 

Slides are divided into conversational and emphatic. 

The Conversational Slide is used in all the simplest forms 
of speech. The changes of upward and downward are made 
chiefly in reference to variety in the expression, one or the 
other prevailing according as the sentiment tends to the 
negative or positive form which will be shown to govern the 
Emphatic Slide. 

The Emphatic Slide is more significant, and the principles 
governing its use are more closely defined. With reference 
to the Emphatic Slide, all language may be divided into posi- 
tive and negative. 

Positive language comprises what is completed, definitely 
stated or enjoined ; and as that which is completed is laid 
down, positive language takes the Downward Slide. 



132 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

Negative language comprises that which is subordinate, 
incomplete and indefinite, and as that which is unfinished is 
continued, or held up, negative language takes the Sustained 
Voice or Rising Slide. 

Note. — While the above is given as the most common governing principle of 
the Slide, yet it should be observed that the Slide is greatly subject to the 
demands of variety and melody, and to the connections of the thought in which 
it is found ; and is, therefore, less arbitrarily governed than the other modula- 
tions. 

The Wave or Circumflex is a Double Slide. Its simplest 
use is in reflective pathos and solemnity. It is prominent in 
wit and in language of double meaning, sarcasm, irony, 
insinuation, and in surprise and astonishment. 

The Rising Circumflex terminates on the upward slide. 
The Falling Circumflex terminates on the downward slide. 

The Circumflex is governed according to the general prin- 
ciple governing the Emphatic Slide. 



EXERCISES IN SLIDES. 

The following exercises, practiced in the order of the Dia- 
grams, and according to the directions, will lead the student 
quickly to a skilful management of the slides. 

exercise 1. 

f f f <f y 

A 4 A O M 



Explanatory Note.— Practice the Conversational Slide 
upward on the long vowel sounds from the Medium Pitch. 
The degree of Slide is not arbitrary. Decide upon a degree 



EXPRESSION— EXAMPLES OF SLIDES. 1 

within the range of ordinary conversation, and give to each 
sound the same Slide. 



EXERCISE 2. 

N *\ N. «s «\ 

Explanatory Note.— Practice the Conversational Slide 
downward, as explained under Diagram 1. 

exercise 3. 




/ 






4 y 

a 

Explanatory Note. — Alternate the Conversational Slide 
upward and downward 



M 







EXERCISE '. 


1. 


a 


4 


i 


4 


A 


A 


A 


V 


N/ 


\) 


xJ 




XJb 


£ 


6 


x/ 



ja 



Explanatory Note. — Slide upward and downward from 
the extremes of the Pitch used in the Conversational Slide. 



PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 
EXERCISE 5. 




a C yt /J Al 

Explanatory Note. — Practice the Emphatic Slide upward 
from Medium to a degree of Pitch beyond that of ordinary 
conversation. The degree is not arbitrary, but should be 
uniform through the five sounds. 

exercise 6. 




a / a fi f m 

Explanatory Note. — Practice the Emphatic Slide down- 
ward, according to directions for Diagram 5. 
exercise 7. 

a / I 




a jt A /O m 

Explanatory Note. — Alternate the Emphatic Slide upward 
and downward. 



EXPRESSION— EXAMPLES OP SLIDES. 135 

EXERCISE 8. 




Explanatory Note.— Slide upward and downward from 
the extremes of Pitch used in the Emphatic Slide. 

Suggestion to Teachers. — This Diagram, produced before the Class in the 
order of steps here indicated, with practice upon the several steps, will give an 
interesting variety of exercise in Slide, with better results than the practice of 
any other one exercise for the same length of time. 



EXAMPLES OF CONVERSATIONAL SLIDES. 



Note to Teacher or Student.— Practice abundantly in simple questions, 
and common-place conversational language. Observe the natural turning of the 
voice upward and downward, and apply similar changes in such exercises as 
the following : 



1. My ancestors came from old Sparta, and settled among 
the vine-clad rocks and citron groves of Cyrasella. My 
early life ran quiet as the brooks by which I sported ; and 
when, at noon, I gathered the sheep beneath the shade, and 
played upon the shepherd's flute, there was a friend, the son 
of a neighbor, to join me in the pastime. We led our flocks 
to the same pasture and partook together our rustic meal. 

— E. Kellogg. 

2. Juliet. — 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy. 
What's in a name ? That which we call a rose, 
By any other name would smell as sweet. 

— Shakspeare. 



136 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

3. Art is never art till it is more than art: the finite 
exists only as to the body of the infinite. The man of 
genius must first know the infinite, unless he wishes to 
become, not a poet, but a maker of idols. — Kingsley. 

4. Touch. — How old are you, friend ? 
Will. — Five and twenty, sir. 

Touch. — A ripe age. Is thy name William ? 

Will. — William, sir. 

Touch. — A fair name. Wast born i' the forest here ? 

Will. — Ay, sir, I thank God. 

Touch. — Thank God ! a good answer. Art rich ? 

Will. — Faith, sir, so so. 

Touch. — So so is good, very good, — very excellent good : 

and yet it is not ; it is but so so. — Shakspeare. 

5. Once came to our fields a pair of birds that had never 
built a nest nor seen a winter. Oh, how beautiful was every- 
thing ! The fields were full of flowers, and the grass was 
growing tall, and the bees were humming everywhere. 

— Henry Ward Beecher. 

6. Mountains are, to the rest of the body of the earth, 
what violent muscular action is to the body of man. The 
muscles and tendons of its anatomy are, in the mountain, 
brought out with fierce and convulsive energy, full of 
expression, passion, and strength ; the plains and lower hills 
are the repose and the effortless motion of the frame, when 
its muscles lie dormant and concealed beneath the lines of 
its beauty, yet ruling those lines in their every undulation. 
This, then, is the first grand principle of the truth of the 
earth. The spirit of the hills is action ; that of the lowlands, 
repose ; and between these there is to be found every variety 
of motion and of rest; from the inactive plain, sleeping like 
the firmament, with cities for stars, to the fiery peaks, 
which, with heaving bosoms and exulting limbs, with the 
clouds drifting like hair from their bright foreheads, lift up 
their Titan hands to heaven, saying, "I live forever!" 

— RusJcin. 

7. 'Tis midnight's holy hour, — and silence now 
Is brooding like a gentle spirit o'er 

The still and pulseless world. Hark ! on the winds 
The bell's deep tones are swelling — 'tis the knell 
Of the departed year. No luneral train 
Is sweeping past ; yet, on the stream and wood, 



EXPRESSION— EXAMPLES OF SLIDES. 137 

With melancholy light, the moonbeams rest 
Like a pale, spotless shroud. — Geo. D. Prentice. 

8. Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain 
that build it : except the Lord keep the city, the watchman 
waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to 
sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrow : for so he giveth his 
beloved sleep. — Bible. 

9. We had come to the middle of our sermon, when a 
large fly, taking advantage of the open mouth of the speaker, 
darted into our throat. The crisis was upon us. Shall we 
cough and eject this impertinent intruder, or let him silently 
have his way? — Talmadge. 

10. God forbid that we should outlive the love of our 
children. Rather let us die while their hearts are a part of 
our own, that our grave may be watered with their tears and 
our love linked with their hopes of heaven. 

11. Would you make men trustworthy ? Trust them. 
Would you make them true? Believe them. We win by 
tenderness, we conquer by forgiveness. — Robertson. 



EXAMPLES OF EMPHATIC SLIDE. 



1. To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, 
To throw a perfume on the violet, 

To smooth the ice, or add another hue 

Unto the rainbow, or with taper light, 

To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish, 

Is wasteful and ridiculous excess. — Shakspeare. 

2. To them his heart, his love, his griefs were given, 
But all his serious thoughts had rest in heaven. 
As some tall cliff that lifts its awful form, 

Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm ; 
Though round its breast the willing clouds are spread, 
Eternal sunshine settles on its head. — Goldsmith. 

3. The war must go on ! We must fight it through I 

4. Be a soldier ! Be a hero ! Be a man I 



138 PBACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

5. Can storied urn, or animated bust, 

Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath ? 
Can Honor's voice provoke the silent dust, 
Or Flattery soothe the dull, cold ear of death ? 

6. If ye are beasts, then stand here like fat oxen, waiting 
for the butcher's knife ! If ye are men,— follow me ! Strike 
down yon guard, gain the mountain passes, and there do 
bloody work, as did your sires at old Thermopylae ! 

— E. Kellogg. 

7 When can their glory fade ? 

Oh, the wild charge they made ! 

All the world wondered. 
Honor the charge they made ! 
Honor the Light Brigade, — 
Noble six" hundred ! 

— Tennyson. 

8. The charge is utterly, totally and meanly false ? 

9. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, 
and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a 
tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, 
and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and 
though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, 
and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow 
all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to 
be burned, and have not charity, it,profiteth me nothing. 
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; 
charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave 
itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, 
thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in 
the truth ; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all 
things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophe- 
cies, they shall fail ; whether there be tongues, they shall 
cease ; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.^ But when 
that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall 
be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I 
understood as a child, I thought as a child ; but when I 
became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see 
through a glass darkly, but then face to face : now I know 
in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known. 



EXPRESSION— EXAMPLE3 OP SLIDES. 139 

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, — these three ; but the 
greatest of these is charity. — Bible 



EXAMPLES IN WAVE OR CIRCUMFLEX. 



1. Oh, a wonderful stream is the river of Time, 

As it runs through the realm of tears, 
With a faultless rhythm and a musical rhyme, 
And a boundless sweep and a surge sublime, 

As it blends with the ocean of years. 

— B. F. Taylor. 

2. It took Eome three hundred years to die; and our 
death, if we perish, will be as much more terrific as our in- 
telligence and free institutions have given to us more bone 
and sinew and vitality. May God hide me from the day 
when the dying agonies of my country shall begin ! thou 
beloved land, bound together by the ties of brotherhood, and 
common interest, and perils, live forever — one and undi- 
vided ! — Lyman Beecher. 

3. And this man 

Is now become a god ; and Cassius is 

A wretched creature, and must bend his body, 

If Caesar carelessly but nod on him. 

He had a fever when he was in Spain, 

And, when the fit was on him, I did mark 

How he did shake : 'tis true, this god did shake : 

His coward lips did from their color fly ; 

And that same eye, whose bend doth awe the world, 

Did lose its lustre. — Shakspeare. 

4. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and 
reconciliation ? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to 
be reconciled, that force must be called in to win back our 
love? 

5. None dared withstand him to his face, 
But one sly maiden spake aside : 

" The little witch is evil-eyed, 
Her mother only killed a cow, 
Or witched a churn, or dairy-*p&n, 
But she, forsooth, must charm a man." 



140 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

6. My feet are wearied and my hands are tired, 
My soul oppressed ; 
And with desire have I long desired 
Rest — only rest. 

7. Rich in a dozen paltry villages ! Strong in a hundred 
spearmen ! but only great in that strange spell a name ! 

8. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof; the 
world, and they that dwell therein. 

9. I saw a man 

Deal Death unto his brother. Drop by drop 
The poison was distilled for cursed gold ; 
And in the wine cup's ruddy glow sat Death, 
Invisible to that poor trembling slave. 

— E. Evans Edwards. 

10. Rome ! Rome ! thou hast been a tender nurse to 
me. Ay ! thou hast given to that poor, gentle, timid shep- 
herd-lad, who never knew a harsher tone than a flute-note, 
muscles of iron and a heart of flint ; taught him to drive the 
sword through plaited mail and links of rugged brass, and 
warm it in the marrow of his foe : — to gaze into the glaring 
eye-balls of the fierce Numidian lion even as a boy upon a 
laughing-girl ! 

11. Alternate the Rising and Falling Circumflex in the 
following : Did you say no, or no ? I said no, not no. 



GESTURE. 



Gesture is posture or action, expressive of sentiment and 
emotion. While Speech is the verbal manifestation of thought 
and feeling, Gesture is the silent, but no less eloquent exposi- 
tor of the same workings of the soul. It supplements 
speech, and by its added grace, emphasis, and illustration, 
furnishes to the hearer a picture complete in all its parts. 

It is not the object to present here a series of rules upon 
which the student is expected to rely. True art never 
cables itself to mechanical forms — its inspiration and power 
emanate from the soul of the speaker. There are, however, 
certain natural laws which control all our actions, and upon 
these are based the Topics presented in the following outline : 



P 
Eh 

W 

o 

% 

t-l 

p 

o 



Conversational 


Position. < 


Passive. 
Active. 
■ Head. 


I Location. 
Purpose. \ Illustration. 
[ Emphasis. 








Oratorical. 


Movements 

°f 

Body. 


Arm. ■ 


f Straight. 
1 
Lines, -j 

[ Curved. 


Middle. 

Ascending. 

Descending. 










Supine. 


Dramatic. 




Lower 


. Position of Sand. ■ 
Jmbs. 


Prone. 
Vertical.* 


■. 


Facial Ezpr 


ission. < 


Un impassioned. 
Impassioned. 







1 1 



142 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

Gesture, with reference to sentiment, is divided into— 

Conversational, 

Oratorical, 

Dramatic. 

Conversational Gestures are used in unemotional lan- 
guage. 

The position should be erect, easy and natural ; the arm 
movements should usually centre at the elbow, and the 
expression of the countenance be open and cheerful. 

Oratorical Gestures delineate the earnest, the lofty, and 
the sublime. Hence, the position is not only erect, but active; 
the arm movements are mainly from the shoulder, and the 
expression of the face is confident and animated. 

Dramatic Gestures relate to the drama and to all deeply 
impassioned language. They are the exponent of the 
passions, and require great intensity of feeling in position, 
movement, and facial expression. 

Note. — Any one of the divisions above named may be found closely combined 
with either, or both of the others, as shown in the following examples : 

So through the night rode Paul Revere ! 

And so through the night went his cry of alarm 

To every Middlesex village and farm — 

A cry of defiance, and not of fear, 

A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door, 

And a word that shall echo forevermore ! 

— Longfellow. 

Then suddenly rang a sharp, low cry ! 

Bess sank on her knees, and wildly tossed 
Eer withered arms in the summer sky — 

"O, Willie! Willie! my lad ! my lost! 
The Lord be praised ! after sixty years 

I see you again ! The tears you cost, 
O, Willie darlin', were bitter tears ! 

— Hamilton Aide, " Lost and Found. 1 * 



POSITION] 



By Position is meant the way in which a person stands in 
speaking, whether it be in the parlor, the counting-room, the 
pulpit or at the bar. It is certain that curved spine, drooped 
shoulders, protruded chin and bent knees are not only inele- 
gant, but they, to a great degree, indicate mental or physical 
weakness. 

A healthful and graceful carriage demands that the head 
be kept easily erect, the shoulders thrown sufficiently back to 
give an open chest, and that the weight of the body rest upon 
the supporting limb, the knee of the same kept firm. Care 
should also be taken that the feet be properly placed. With- 
out minute description, let it be observed that one foot be 
placed in advance of the other, the heel of the advanced foot 
pointing to the hollow of the retired one, the distance 
between them depending upon the size and build of the 
speaker. Greater freedom is thus given to the whole body 
without a loss of its equilibrium. 

Position may assume two forms — 

First, the Passive Position, in which there is absence of 
passion. This is the most common attitude of the speaker, 
and sustains to Gesture the same relation as Pure Quality 
of voice to Conversation. 

Second, the Active Position, which represents intensity of 
thought and feeling. The head is more firmly se% the chest 
more expanded, the lower limbs are more decided and the 
Advanced and Retired Postures strongly marked, often to 
such a degree that the unsupporting limb may be thrown 
upon the toes. 

The Passive Position is in harmony with unemotional 
language whether it be ordinary conversation, didactic ex- 
pression, or plain argument. 

J.4o 



144 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

Examples for practice — 

1. It is better to inspire the heart with a noble sentiment 
than to teach the mind a truth of science. — Edward Brooks. 

2. The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the 

year, 
Of wailing winds and naked woods and meadows brown 

and sere; 
Heaped in the hollows of the grove, the autumn leaves 

lie dead ; 
They rustle to the eddying gust and to the rabbit's 

tread ; 
The robin and the wren are flown, and from the shrubs 

the jay, 
And from the wood-top calls the crow through all the 

gloomy day. — Bryant, "Death of the Flowers." 

The Active Position may represent earnest, enthusiastic 
bold or impassioned speech, in which case the weight of the 
body is thrown upon the advanced limb. It may represent 
that which is decided, determined, resistent or independent, 
in which case the weight of the body is thrown upon the 
retired limb. 

Examples of Active — Advanced — 

1. Gray nose to gray nose, and each steady mustang, 
Stretched neck and stretched nerve till the arid earth 

rang. — Joaquin Miller, "Kit Carson's Ride." 

2. Not in vain the distance beacons. Forward, forward 

let us range ! 
Let the great world spin forever down the ringing 

grooves of change ! 
Through the shadow of the globe we sweep into the 

younger day ; 
Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay. 
— Tennyson, " Locksley Hall" 

3. "0 comrades! warriors! Thracians! if we must fight, 
let us fight for ourselves ; if we must slaughter, let us slaugh- 
ter our oppressors ; if we must die, let us die under the open 



GESTURE— MOVEMENTS OF THE BODY. 145 

sky, by the bright waters, in noble, honorable battle." — Elijah 
Kellogg. 

Examples of Active— Eetired — 

1. Come with bayonets in your hands instead of petitions 
— surround the White House with your legions — I am ready 
for you all! — George Lippard, "Andrew Jackson." 

2. Talk not to me 

Of odds or match ! When Comyn died, 
Three daggers clashed within his side! 
Talk not to me of sheltering hall ! 
The Church of God saw Comyn fall ! 
On God's own altar streamed his blood ; 
While o'er my prostrate kinsman stood 
The ruthless murderer, even as now, — 
With armed hand and scornful brow. 

— Sir Walter Scott, " Lord of the Isles." 

.3. "What! to attribute the sacred sanctions of God and 
Nature, to the massacres of the Indian seal ping-knife ! to the 
cannibal savage, torturing, murdering, devouring, drinking 
the blood of his mangled victims ! Such notions shock every 
precept of morality, every feeling of humanity, every senti- 
ment of honor. These abominable principles, and this more 
abominable avowal of them, demand the most decisive in- 
dignation." — From Chatham's Rebuke of Lord Suffolk. 

Note.— The principles above presented are not designed to cover the entire 
ground of Position. Enough has been stated to give a general idea of the sub- 
ject; other attitudes, largely under characterization, must be left to the 
taste and judgment of the speaker. 



MOVEMENTS OP THE BODY. 

Movements of the Body are those of the Head, the Arm, 
and the Lower Limbs. These movements should be free, 
natural and significant. 

HEAD. 

The head movements should not only be varied in harmony 



146 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

with the sentiment, but they should also be directed to the 
individual hearers throughout the audience. This will show 
that the words are not meant for the separate few, but are 
designed for every one in the assemblage. 

On the other hand, the speaker should carefully guard 
against too frequent change of this important member. 
Nothing is more unpleasant than a constant or habitual 
movement of the head. 



ABM. 

Purpose. — The movements of the arm are for the purpose 
of giving clearer meaning or greater stress to a word or an 
expression than can be given by voice only. This purpose 
may be shown in three ways : 

First. In the location of an object, thus bringing it more 
vividly before the mind of the auditor — hence Gestures of 
Location. 

Second. To describe or show how or in what way some- 
thing appeared or was affected or imitated — hence Gestures 
of Illustration. 

Third. To give greater intensity to words by the degree 
of force culminating the movement — hence Gestures of 
Emphasis. 

STote 1.— Gestures of Location and Illustration present themselves readily in 
all kinds of language — the student must, however, guard against making more 
than are either necessary or true. 

Note 2.— Emphatic Gestures are less readily discovered, and are for this 
reason less liable to extremes in manner. The best means of ascertaining the 
place of the Emphatic Gesture is to thoroughly comprehend the meaning of 
the passage to be rendered, giving to the most vital part of it the needed gesture. 

Note 3.— By the classification just made it must not be understood that the 
three forms of Gesture always exist separately ; they are sometimes combined — 
this is especially true of the Emphatic Gesture, which frequently blends with 
one of the others. 



Location- 



GESTURE— MOVEMENTS OF THE BODY. 147 

EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE. 



Far aloft in that high steeple 
Sat the bell-man, old and gray. 

— Independence Bell. 



There the troop of Minon wheels, 

There the Northern horses thunder with the cannon at 
their heels. — Whittier: "Angels of Buena Vista." 

Illustration — 

Straight the ancient Arrow-maker 
Looked up gravely from his labor, 
Laid aside the unfinished arrow, 
Bade him enter at the doorway; 
Saying, as he rose to meet him, 
You are welcome, Hiawatha. 

— Longfellow : "Song of Hiawatha. 7 * 

She leans upon his neck 
To watch the flowing darkness ; 
The bank is high and steep ; 
One pause — he staggers forward, 
And plunges in the deep. 

— Adelaide Proctor: " Legend of Bregenz" 

Emphasis— 

The war is inevitable ! 

I tell you, though you, though all the world, though an 
angel from Heaven should declare the truth of it, I would not 
believe it. 

Lines. — Movements of the Arm must be made in certain 
lines. According to natural laws these lines are either 
straight or curved — whether the assertion be conversational, 
oratorical or dramatic. 

Guiding Principles: Forcible, determined, abrupt and 
bold expressions require straight lines ; such as are beautiful, 



1 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

graceful, genial, grave, grand and exultant require the 
curves, 

EXAMPLES. 

Straight — 

Down, soothless insulter! I trust not the tale. 

— Campbell: " LochieVs Warning." 

A lie which is all a lie, may be met and fought with outright; 
But a lie which is part a truth is a harder matter to fight. 
— Tennyson: " The Grandmother" 

Curved — 

The Niobe of nations ! there she stands, 
Childless and crownless in her voiceless woe ! 

— Byron : " Childe Harold," 

One touch to her hand and one word in her ear, 
When they reached the hall door where the charger stood 
near. — Scott: " Lochinvar" 



It is further demonstrable by the same laws that these 
lines must take a Middle, an Ascending, or a Descending 
direction. 

Such ideas as indicate ordinary events, plain statement 
and description, emotional address or reference to substance, 
real or imagined, surrounding, require a middle direction. 

Reference to substance, real or imagined, located above; 
pure, noble, lofty and exultant emotions, and all ideas 
prompted by an approving conscience naturally require an 
ascending direction. 

Reference to substance, real or imagined, located beiow; 
base, abject, grovelling emotions; frequently strong em- 
phatic assertions, and all ideas prompted by a disapproving 
conscience, naturall}*- take a descending direction. 

These general directions may carry the hand to the front, 



GESTURE— MOVEMENTS OF THE BODY. 149 

the side, the back or point9 between, as may be shown by 
the character of the assertion. Thus it will be seen that by 
line and direction, the movements of the arm may be varied, 
for the purpose of adding strength to uttered thought. 

While a speaker is allowed the largest liberty in manner, so 
long as he keeps within the limit of good taste, yet he who is 
most natural, most artistic andmost impressive, is the one who 
evinces the clearest conception of what he wishes to convey; 
and this must necessarily call out variety of motion. Gesture, 
like speech, has in a sense, its modulations, and he who 
conceives correctly will never be monotonous. 

Position op Hand. — Excepting the face, the hand con- 
stitutes the strongest silent medium of communication, 
and its interpretation almost exclusively depends upon the 
position it assumes under different phases of expression. 
Sheridan says : " Every one knows that with the hands we 
can demand or promise, call, dismiss, threaten, supplicate, 
ask, deny, show joy, sorrow, detestation, fear, confession, 
penitence, admonition, respect, and many other things now 
in common use." The positions of the hand are denned 
by the common terms of Supine, Prone, and Vertical. 

The Supine Position is extremely broad in its application. 
It may be used in ordinary, beautiful and sublime descrip- 
tion; in address to objects animate and inanimate; in com- 
manding, entreating, welcoming, commending and kindred 
ideas, and in elucidating or intensifying a statement or 
argument. 

The Hand Prone usually shows superposition or the resting 
of one object, fact or principle upon another. It may also 
denote destruction to life, morally or physically, and in a 
certain sense, shows treachery or concealment. 

The Hand Vertical indicates aversion or abhorrence of an 
object which is distasteful, disgusting, or terrible; it is also 
used in surprise, and to deprecate or deplore an unavoidable 
circumstance or calamity. 



loO 



PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 



DOUBLE GESTURES. 



Double gestures have the same general meaning as the 
single ones. Their specific use is to show broader expanse of 
objects, greater breadth of thought, and more intensity of 
emotion than can be given by one hand only. 

In the preceding classification, with reference to the different positions of the 
hand, only leading terms are noted, in the belief that the student will be able 
from these to draw correct conclusions with reference to others. 



EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE. 

MIDDLE LINES — ONE HAND SUPINE. 

1. " No pleasure is comparable to the standing on the 

vantage-ground of truth. 7 ' 

2. "Before him lay the unexplored future." 

3. "I give thee in thy teeth the lie ! " 

4. " Wisdom is better than riches." 

5. " What is man that Thou art mindful of him? " 

6. " I freely grant all that you demand." 

7. " Whatever impedes his progress shall be removed." 

8. "The breeze died away as the sun sank behind the 
•western hills." 

9. "A distant sail appeared on the verge of the horizon." 

10. " I see the silent Ocean of the Past, a waste of waters 
weltering over graves." 

BOTH HANDS SUPINE. 

1. " His talents he deposited on the altar of his country." 

2. " Forward ! Forward, let us range ! " 

3. " To freedom she leaped through drowning and death." 



GESTURE— MOVEMENTS OF THE BODY. 151 

4. "Our deeds determine us as much as we determine our 
deeds." 

5. " delightful legacy of a spotless reputation." 

6. "They tell us to be moderate, but they — they are to 
revel in profusion." 

7. " One vast realm of wonder spreads around." 

8. "Proclaim the tidings to all people." 

9. " May my country exist to the latest day in the pleni- 
tude of liberty and happiness." 



ASCENDING LINES— ONE HAND SUPINE. 

1. " Eternal King ! Author of all being." 

2. " Hope is above us beckoning us onward." 

3. "Flag of the free heart's hope and home ! " 

4. "High in the political horizon stands the name of 
Washington." 

5. " Fix your eye upon excellence." 

6. "A new immortal wakes — wakes with his God ! " 

7. " Higher yet, rose the majestic anthem without pau*^-" 

8. " Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise." 

9. "Away — Oh ! away — soars the fearless and free." 

BOTH HANDS SUPINE. 

1. " Mighty one— all hail ! " 

2. " Give your children food, Father ! " 

3. " Take my spirit, All-Omnipotent to Thee." 

4. " Ye crags and peaks, I'm with you once again." 

5. " Ye golden lamps of heaven, farewell." 

6. "Spirits of freedom, awaken all I " 



152 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

7 " Joy, joy forever! my task is done! " 

8. " Rejoice ! the land is free ! " 

9. " Shout, Earth and Heaven, the sum of good to man." 

DESCENDING LINES — ONE HAND SUPINE. 

1. "The truth of his whole statement I do most peremp- 
torily deny." 

2. " Down, down forty fathoms beneath the blue wave." 

3. " I will protest against such a measure." 

4. "Prejudice is often fatal." 

5. " Full many a gem of purest ray serene, 
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear." 

6. " The first test of a truly great man is his humility" 

7. " He has become too vile for association." 

8. "Thou shalt lie down with patriarchs of the infant 
world." 

9. " Poison and plague and yelling rage have fled" 

BOTH HANDS SUPINE. 

1. "All my fortunes at thy feet I'll lay ! " 

2. " O mighty Csesar ! Dost thou lie so low ? " 

3. " Thus I devote thee to the infernal gods ! " 

4. " By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down ; yea we 
wept, when we remembered Zion." 

5. " We consign their ashes to the cold, dark tomb." 

6. " We have no concessions to make, my lord." 

7. " Nature hears the shock and hurls her fabric to the 
dust." 

8. " I utterly renounce the project ! " 

9. " Of all earth's grovelling crew the most accursed! " 



GESTURE — MOVEMENTS OP THE BODY. 153 

MIDDLE LINES — ONE HAND PRONE. 

1. " Peace be unto tnee." 

2. " I 'prohibit the signing of such a paper." 

3. " On stream and wood the moonbeams rest, like a pale 
spotless shroud." 

4. " I charge you all, restrain such propensities." 

5. "A profound awe crept over the multitude." 

6. " Now o'er the one-half world Nature seems dead." 

BOTH HANDS PRONE. ^ 

w 

1. " May the blessings of Heaven rest upon thee." 

2. "With our hands upon the altar, we swear eternal 
fealty." 

3. " The Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast." 

4. " One dead silence reigned over the spot." 

5. " Deep stillness fell on all around." 

6. " Spread the glad tidings from shore to shore." 

ASCENDING LINES— ONE HAND PRONE. 

1. " We crown her the land of a hundred years I" 

2. " Justice cries : Forbear ! " 

3. " High o'er us soared Great Lookout." 

4. " They little knew the danger impending o'er their city." 

5. " Like a glory the broad sun 

Hangs over sainted Lebanon." 

P "A midnight gloom reigned over the farthest height." 

BOTH HANDS PRONE. 

1. " Bless the Lord, O my soul 1" 



154 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

2. " Sink, O Night, among the mountains." 

3. " Wings 'hove life to soar, 

And beyond death forevermore." 

4. " Hung be the heavens with black." 

5. " It shall open wide its portals, 

The city of the free." 

6. " He saw above a ruined world the Bow of Promise rise." 

DESCENDING LINES — ONE HAND PRONE. 

1. "Pray you, tread softly." 

2. " I cannot repress my indignation." 

3. " Her keel hath struck on a hidden rock." 

4. "Blighted are all his prospects." 

5. " Thou art too base for man to tread upon." 

6. "Angel, roll the rock away." 

7. " Fear shrinks trembling into the deepest shadows." 

BOTH HANDS PRONE. 

1. " Lie lightly on him earth." 

2. " Sons of dust, in reverence bow," 

3. " The idols are broke in the temple of Baal." 

4. " We are in Thy sight, worms of the dust" 

5. " Ignorance dissolves before the light of knowledge." 

6. " Open fly the infernal gates I" 

MIDDLE LINES — HAND VERTICAL. 

1. " Back to thy punishment, false fugitive." 

2. " The thought is truly repugnant." 

8. " His arm warded of the blow." 



GESTUKE— MOVEMENTS OF THE BODY. 155 

4. "He evaded all questions." 

5. " Go, get thee from me, Cromwell !" 

6. " False wizard, avaunt /" 

7. " Get thee back, Sorrow, get thee back." 

BOTH HANDS VERTICAL. 

1. " Advanced in view they stand, a horrid front. 19 

2. " "With united hearts let us drive back the invaders." 

3. "Their separation was final. " 

4. " Let them remain, disunited forever." 

5. " Avaunt, and quit my sight !" 

6. " The land was rent with civil strife." 

ASCENDING LINES — ONE HAND VERTICAL. 

1. " While we bow before thee, turn away thine anger.* 

2. " Oh, forbid it, Heaven !" 

3. " May the impending ruin be averted !" 

4. " Cossack and Russian, 

Reeled from the sabre-stroke, 
Shattered and sundered." 

5. " Away, delusive phantom !" 

6. " Unreal mockery, hence J" 

BOTH HANDS VERTICAL. 

1. " Avert, O God, the terrible calamity." 

2. " Hide your faces, holy angels !" 

3. " O horror ! horror ! horror !" 

4. " Angels and Ministers of Grace, defend us." 

5. " Burst are the prison bars." 



156 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

6. "Celestial right 

Dispels the gloomy shades of night." 



Note. — While the hand through the motions of the arm, reaches certain 
points, and assumes certain positions, such as have been nxmed and exempli- 
fied, the student must not conclude that these comprise all the positions and 
movements of the hand. While those classed are most frequently used, there 
are many others which as justly belong to the speaker's range of expression. 
A few of the more prominent of these are presented in the following 



EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE. 

HAND RAISED TO CALL ATTENTION. 

" Hush I Hush ! Thou vain dreamer, this hour is her last." 

HAND WAVED OR FLOURISHED — TRIUMPH, JOY, OR EXULTATION. 

" Flag of Freedom and Union wave." 
" Io ! They come, they come !" 

HAND ON HEAD—INTENSE THOUGHT OR MENTAL SUFFERING. 

" Blessed mother, save my brain" 

HAND ON CHEST — HOPE OR APPEAL TO CONSCIENCE. 

" Right ? Who says right ? ' ' 

" My conscience says right, and that is enough." 

HAND ON HEART. 

" Be still, sad heart ! and cease repining." 

" Let my heart be sf^amoment and this mystery explore." 

HANDS CLASPED— PRAYER OR PETITION. 



" Oh, for Heaven's sake, spare me ! 
" O TJwu Christ of God forgive I" 



GESTURE — MOVEMENTS OF THE BODY. 157 

HANDS WRUNG AFFLICTION. 

"O pardon me, thou piece of bleeding earth." 

HANDS CLINCHED — ANGER, DEFIANCE. 
ONE HAND. 

u I defy him ! let him come ! " 

BOTH HANDS. 

" T\\ fight till from my bones my flesh be hacked! " 

HAND RAISED. 

" She prayed, her withered hand uprearing, 
God, who art never out of hearing, 
O, may he never more be warm." 

HANDS RAISED — PALMS NEARLY FACING — ADORATION, WONDER, <feC. 

11 Still the infinite heavens rang with the Holy, Holy ever- 
more !" • 

HAND DROPPED. 

* 

"That hand was cold, a frozen thing, 
It dropped from his like lead." 

DRAWING SWORD. 

" By torch and trumpet fast arrayed 
Each warrior drew his battle blade." 

WRAPPING DRAPERY. 

" He in his robe of virtue wraps himself, 
And smiles at Fate's caprice." 



LOWER LIMBS. 

In addition to the general use of the lower limbs, as ex- 
plained under Position, strongly dramatic passages call for 



158 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

corresponding movements. These are suggested by the fol- 
lowing Guiding Principles. The lower limbs bend in timid- 
ity, advance in courage or progression, retire in fear or cau- 
tion, stamp in rage, and start in terror. 

INDEX FINGER. 

A proper use of the index finger not only gives variety to 
gesture, but it enforces an assertion most effectively, espe- 
cially w T hen used to distinguish one from a collection, a part 
from the whole, or to threaten, warn, or deride. 

EXAMPLES. 

1. " Yonder stands the cottage in which I was born." 

2. " You shall die, base dog, and that before yon cloud has 
passed over the sun." 

3. "Look to your hearths my lords." 

4. Nathan said unto David, " Thou art the man." 

5. " Lay not your hand upon my boy" 



FACIAL EXPRESSION. 



The face is the mirror of the emotions ; hence it should be 
taught to reflect promptly all changes of sentiment and feel- 
ing. A voice may be perfect in its modulations; it may set 
itself most harmoniously to all forms of uttered language, 
yet if the soul of the speaker does not bear record, by index- 
ing itself upon the countenance, the aim attempted is, to a 



GESTURE— FACIAL EXPRESSION. 159 

very great degree, marred. Quintilian says, " The face is the 
dominant power of expression. With this we supplicate; 
with this we threaten ; with this we soothe ; with this we 
mourn; with this we rejoice ; with this we triumph; with 
this we make our submissions ; upon this the audience hang ; 
upon this they keep their eyes fixed ; this they examine and 
study even before a word is spoken." 

Facial expression may be divided into Unimpassioned and 
Impassioned. The former belongs to that which is reposeful 
or tranquil, to ordinary conversation, plain narration and 
description, and unimpassioned argument. The latter is 
used in all kinds of emotional language. It is not the 
design in this limited treatment to present the countenance 
under all the varieties of thought and feeling. Some guid- 
ing principles are offered, together with examples for prac- 
tice. 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES. 

1. A smiling countenance indicates courtesy, joy, good 
humor and happiness. 

2. The brows contract, the eyes burn, and the lips com- 
press in anger and defiance. 

3. The nose and upper lip are elevated in scorn ; and the 
brows are raised, the eyes opened, and the lips parted in 
secresy, surprise and fear. 

4. The face is dejected and softened in sorrow, averted in 
shame, and raised in supplication. 



EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE. 

UNIMPASSIONED. 

1. Every evil that we conquer is a benefit to our souls. 
The Sandwich Islander believes that the strength and valor 
of the enemy he kills, passes into himself. Spiritually, it is so 



160 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

with us, for we gain strength from every temptation we 
resist. It is absurd to think of becoming good in any- 
thing without understanding and practicing what we learn. 

2. There is no crown in the world 
So good as patience ; neither is any peace 
That God puts iu our lips to drink as wine, 
More honey-pure, more worthy love's own praise, 
Than that sweet-souled endurance which makes clean 
The iron hands of anger. 

— Swinburne : " The Queen Mother." 

3. "Why weep ye, then, for him who, having won 

The bound of man's appointed years at last, 
Life's blessings all enjoyed, life's labors done, 

Serenely to his final rest has passed, 
While the soft memory of his virtues yet 
Lingers like twilight hues, when the bright sun is set. 
— Bryant ; from " Death of the Good Man." 



IMPASSIONED. 
REVERENCE. 

" Father, Thy hand 
Hath rear'd these venerable columns ; Thou 
Dids't weave this verdant roof. Thou dids't look down 
Upon the naked earth, and forthwith rose 
All these fair ranks of trees." 

— Bryant : from " Forest Hymn" 

PATHOS. 

" Ah, lady, now I know full well 
What 'tis to be an orphan boy." — Mrs. Opie. 

JOYOUSNESS. 

" Ring out the old, ring in the new, 
Ring, happy bells, across the snow : 
The year is going, let him go ; 
Ring out the false, ring in the true." 

— Tennyson: " In Memoriam." 



GESTURE — FACIAL EXPRESSION. 
SECRESY. 

" Hush ! Hark ! Did stealing steps go by, 
Came not faint whispers near ?" 

INDIGNANT COMMAND. 

"Get thee back into the tempest, 
And the night's Plutonian shore I" 

ANGER. 

" And dar'st thou, then, go beard the lion in his den, 
The Douglass in his hall ? 
And hop'st thou hence unscathed to go ? 
No ! by Saint Bride of Both well, no V— Scott; "Marmion." 

DEFIANCE. 

"Thy threats, thy mercies I defy, 
And give thee in the teeth the lie." 

RESIGNATION. 

" Forever and forever, all in a blessed home, 
And there to wait a little while, till you and Effie come, 
To lie within the light of God, as I lie upon your breast ; 
And the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at 
rest." — Tennyson: "May Queen" 

SADNESS. 

" Backward, roll backward, time in your flight, 
Make me a child again, just for to-night." 

GRIEF. 

"01 have lost you all, 
Parents and home and friends." 

EXTREME SURPRISE. 

" Gone to be married ! Gone to swear a peace ! 
False blood to false blood joined ! Gone to be friends ! 
Shall Lewis have Blanche, and Blanche these provinces ?" 

— Shakspeare. 



PRACTICAL ELOCUTION". 
HATRED. 

"Stay there, or I'll proclaim you to the house and the whole 
street ! If you try to evade me, I'll stop you, if it's by the 
hair, and raise the very stones against you." — Dickens. 

EXTREME FEAR. 

" To bed, to bed ! There's knocking at the gate I" 

JEALOUSY. 

! 

" But one sly maiden spake aside — 
The little witch is evil eyed : 
Her mother only killed a cow, 
Or witched a churn or dairy pan : 
But she, forsooth, must charm a man !" 

— Whittier : " Mabel Martin." 

TRIUMPH. 

" Mark ye the flashing oars, 
And the spears that light the deep ? 
How the festal sunshine pours 
Where the lords of battle sweep ! 
Each hath brought back his shield : 
Maid, greet thy lover home ! 
Mother, from that proud field, 
Io! thy son is come." 

AFFECTATION. 

" Ha ! ha ! ha I Well, I believe I do bear my part with 
a tolerable grace." 

HUNGER AND SADNESS. 

" Give me three grains of corn, mother, 
Only three grains of corn ; 
'Twill keep the little life I have, 
Till the coming of the morn." 

SCORN. 

"She love ! That carrion ! And he ever cared for her, she'd 



gesture— Miscellaneous exercises. 163 

tell me ! Ha ! ha ! The liars that these traders are."— 
Dickens. 

terror. 

" Alack ! I am afraid they have awaked, 
And 'tis not done : the attempt, and not the deed, 
Confounds us ! Hark ! I laid their daggers ready ; 
He could not miss them.'' — Shakspeare: "Macbeth" 

revenge. 

" And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge, 
With Ate" by his side, come hot from hell, 
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice, 
Cry Havoc, and let slip the dogs of war !" 

— Sliakspeare: "Julius Cxsar" 

EXULTATION. 

" Go ring the bells and fire the guns, 
And fling the starry banners out; 
Shout ' Freedom !' till your lisping ones 
Give back their cradle-shout." 

— Whittier. 



MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISES IN GESTURE. 



1. Oh, the gorgeous city, 
Shining far away ! 
Neither misery nor crime, 
Nor the wrongs of ancient time, 
Nor the kingly lust of sway 
Ever come within its wall 
To degrade — or to enthrall — 
Oh, the glorious city, so beautiful to see, — 
But peace and love and knoivledge 
The civilizing three, 
Still prove by good that has been 
The better that may be. 

—Mackay: " The Golden City." 



164 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

2. No fearing, no doubting thy soldier shall know, 

When here stands his country, and yonder his foe ; 

One look on the bright sun, one prayer to sky, 

One glance where our banner waves glorious on high 

Then on, as the young lion bounds to his prey ; 

Let the sword flash on high, fling the scabbard away ; 

Roil on, like the thunderbolt over the plain ; 

We come back in glory or we come not again ! 



3. For all the kindreds and tribes and tongues of men, — ; 
each upon their own meridian, — from the Arctic pole to the 
equator, from the equator to the Antarctic pole, the eternal 
sun strikes twelve at noon, and the glorious constellations, far 
up in the everlasting belfries of the skies, chime twelve at 
midnight — twelve for the pale student over his flickering 
lamp — twelve amid the flaming wonders of Orion's belt, if he 
crosses the meridian at that fated hour — twelve by the weary 
couch of languishing humanity, twelve in the star paved 
courts of the Empyrean — twelve for the heaving tides of the 
ocean ; twelve for the weary arm of labor, twelve for the 
toiling brain, twelve for the watching, waking, broken heart; 
twelve for the meteor which blazes for a moment and 
expires ; twelve for the comet whose period is measured by 
centuries : twelve for every substantial, for every imaginary 
thing, which exists in the sense the intellect, or the fancy, 
and which the speech or thought of man, at the given meri- 
dian, refers to the lapse of time. 

— Everett :" Eternal Clockwork of the Skies." 



Oh, with what pride I used 

To walk these hills, and look up to my God, 

And bless him that the land was free ! 'T was free- 

From end to end, from cliff to lake, 't was free! 

Free as our torrents are that leap our rocks, 

And plow our valleys, without asking leave ! 

Or as our peaks, that wear their caps of snow 

In very presence of the regal sun ! 

How happy was it then ? I loved 

Its very storms. Yes, I have sat 

In my boat at night, when, midway o'er the lake, 

The stars went out, and down the mountain gorge 

The wind came roaring. I have sat and eyed 

The thunder breaking from his cloud, and smiled 



GESTURE— MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISES. 165 

To see him shake his lightnings o'er my head, 
And think I had no master save his own ! 

On yonder jutting cliff, o'ertaken there 

By the mountain blast, I 've laid me flat along, 

And while gust followed gusc more furiously, 

As if to sweep me o'er the horrid brink, 

And I have thought of other lands, whose storms 

Are summer-flaws to those of mine, and just 

Have wished me there — the thought that mine was free 

Has checked that wish, and I have raised my head 

And cried in thraldom to that furious wind, 

Blow on ! — this is the land of liberty ! — Knowles. 

5. Oh ! listen, man ! 

A voice within us speaks that startling word, 

" Man, thou shalt never die ! " celestial voices 

Hymn it unto our souls : according harps 

By angel fingers touched, when the mild stars 

Of morning sang together, sound forth still 

The song of our great immortality ; 

Thick clustering orbs, and this our fair domain, 

The tall, dark mountains, and the deep-toned seas, 

Join in the solemn, universal song. 

Oh ! listen ye, our spirits : drink it in 

From all the air. 'Tis in the gentle moonlight; 

'Tis floating midst Day's setting glories ! Night, 

Wrapped in her sable robe, with silent step 

Comes to our bed, and breathes it in our ears : 

Night, and the dawn, bright*day, and thoughtful eve, 

All time, all bounds, the limitless expanse, 

As one vast mystic instrument, are touched 

By an unseen, living Hand : and conscious chords 

Quiver with joy in this great jubilee. 

Dana: Immortality. 

6. While the union lasts we have high, exciting, gratifying 
prospects spread out before us, for us and our children. 
Beyond that I seek not to penetrate the veil. God grant 
that in my day, at least, that curtain may not rise. God 
grant thnt on my vision never may be opened what lies be- 
hind. When my eyes shall be turned to behold, for the last 
time, the sun in heaven, may I not see him shining on the 
broken and dishonored fragments of a once glorious union ; 
on states dissevered, discordant, belligerent; on a land rent 



166 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

with civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood! 
Let their last feeble and lingering glance, rather, behold the 
gorgeous ensign of the republic, now known and honored 
throughout the earth, still full high advanced, its arms and 
trophies streaming in their original luster, not a stripe erased 
or polluted, nor a single star obscured, bearing for its motto 
no such miserable interrogatory as — What is all this worth? 
Nor those other words of delusion and folly — Liberty first 
and union afterward ; but everywhere spread all over in 
characters of living light, blazing on all its ample folds, as they 
float over the sea and over the land, in every wind under the 
whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to every true 
American heart — Liberty and union, now and forever, one 
and inseparable ! — Webster : Liberty and Union. 

7. CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE. 

Haifa league, half a league, 

Half a league onward, 
All in the valley of death 

Rode the six hundred. 
" Forward, the Light Brigade ! 
Charge for the guns ! " he said : 
Into the valley of Death 

Rode the six hundred. 

"Forward, the Light Brigade I" 
Was there a man dismayed? 
Not though the soldiers knew 

Some one had blundered ! 
Theirs not to make reply ; 
Theirs not to reason why ; 
Theirs but to do and die : 
Into the valley of Death 
Rode the six hundred. 

Cannon to right of them, 
Cannon to left of them, 
Cannon in front of them 

Volleyed and thundered : 
Stormed at with shot and shell, 
Boldly they rode and well; 
Into the jaws of Death, 
Into the mouth of Hell, 

Rode the six hundred. 



GESTURE— MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISES. 

Flashed all their sabers bare, 
Flashed as they turned in air, 
Sab'ring the gunners there, 
Charging an army, while 

All the world wondered! 
Plunged in the battery smoke, 
Right through the line they broke : 
Cossack and Russian 
Reeled from the saber-stroke, 

Shattered and sundered. 
Then they rode back ; but not — 

Not the six hundred. 

Cannon to right of them, 
Cannon to left of them, 
Cannon behind them 

Volleyed and thundered : 
Stormed at with shot and shell, 
While horse and hero fell, 
They that had fought so well 
Came through the jaws of Death, 
Back from the mouth of Hell, 
All that was left of them — 

Left of six hundred. 

When can their glory fade? 
O the wild charge they made ! 

All the world wondered. 
Honor the charge they made ! 
Honor the Light Brigade, — 

Noble six hundred ! — Tennyson, 

8. 
" O, where is the knight or the squire so bold 
As to dive to the howling charybdis below ? — 
I cast in the whirlpool a goblet of gold, 
And o'er it already the dark waters flow ; 
Whoever to me may the goblet bring 
Shall have for his guerdon that gift of his king." 

He spake, and the cup from the terrible steep 
That, rugged and hoary, hung over the verge 
Of the endless and measureless world of the deep, 
Swirled into the maelstrom that maddened the surge. 
" And where is the diver so stout to go — 
I ask ye again— to the deep below f " 



16 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

And the knights and the squires that gathered around, 
Stood silent, and fixed on the ocean their eyes ; 
They looked on the dismal and savage profound, 
And the peril chilled back every thought of the prize. 
And thrice spake the monarch, — "The cup to win, 
Is there never a wight who will venture in ?" 

And all as before heard in silence the king, 
Till a youth with an aspect unfearing, but gentle, 
'Mid the tremulous squires, stepped out from the ring, 
Unbuckling his girdle, and doffing his mantle; 
And the murmuring crowd as they parted asunder, 
On the stately boy cast their looks of wonder. 

As he strode to the marge of the summit, and gave 

One glance on the gulf of that merciless main. 

* # # # * * *•* 

The youth gave his trust to his Maker ! Before 

That path through the riven abyss closed again — 

Hark ! a shriek from the crowd rang aloft from the shore, 

And, behold! he is whirled in the grasp of the main ! 

And o'er him the breakers mysteriously rolled, 

And the giant mouth closed o'er the swimmer bold. 

—Schiller : " The Diver." 



GENERAL SUGGESTIONS. 



In Transition, or in passing from one gesture to another, 
the hand should not be dropped at the side, but allowed to 
pass by graceful movement from one point to the other. 

When Climax is required, strengthen each w 7 ord, phrase, or 
assertion, over the preceding one, by a stronger gesture, and 
in a manner and direction as may be indicated by the 
character of the discourse. 

Study nature for attitude and action as well as for speech. 
The most noted readers and speakers often furnish worthy 
examples. Benefit in this regard may also be derived from 
observation of characters in sculpture and painting. 



GESTURE — MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISES. 169 

Study Repose of manner: there is repose of action as well 
as of inaction ; it is the sign of mastery. It is the most 
unfailing test of beauty whether of matter or of motion. 



CAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED. 

1. Avoid false gestures. 

2. Avoid crude and ungraceful gestures, except in the oc- 
casional sentiment which may require it. 

3. Do not use the whole body when the action of only 
one of its members is required. 

4. Avoid meaningless gestures ; let every movement have 
a purpose. 

5. Avoid excess in gesture; too few are better than 
too many. 

6. Never shock the sensibilities of an audience by too 
coarse an imitation. 

The objects to be attained in Gesture, are ease and appro- 
priateness of manner. These objects are usually only at- 
tained through time and patient toil. The student should 
thoroughly comprehend the Principles, so that in the ap- 
plication of the same he may be entirely unconscious of 
their existence. Unconsciousness will lead to ease, correct- 
ness and variety of movement; it will also be found that as 
the soul is stirred by thought and feeling from within, or by 
circumstances from without, Gesture will differ at different 
times upon the same assertions, and yet at each time be 
equally appropriate or correct. 

In the adaptation of Gesture to Speech the student should 
study to establish the most perfect harmony — otherwise the 
effect is to a great degree lost, and at no time should he lose 
sight of the fact that the former is a helper rather than an 
exponent of the latter. 



170 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 



METHODS OF INSTRUCTION. 



In addition to the author's experience of twenty years as an instructor, during 
■which period he has enjoyed the advantage of rare and varied opportunities for 
appreciating thewantsoftheteacher.it has been his privilege to meat thou, 
sands of teachers in professional relations. These contacts, and the observations 
they have afforded, have led to much thought and to a profound appreciation of 
the teacher's needs in the direction of his special department. 

Next to the desire of a broad and intelligent comprehension of the subject, 
which he has made a lifelong study, he entertains no stronger desire than that 
he may stimulate and help the teacher in his work. No other instruction 
within the province of our educational system possesses an equal degree of 
practical importance with that of natural, chaste and effective speech. It 
relates to' the whole man, physical, mental and moral. It relates to every 
man of the whole race. It relates to every grade and occupation. It relates to 
the every-day life of every man of every grade and every occupation. 

To treat the subject of Methods worthily, would require a volume. In the 
absence of time and space to give it such consideration as it deserves, there ha<* 
been the temptation to ignore it altogether. It is to be hoped that we have deter, 
mined more wisely in offering what is now before the student under the two 
general divisions, Theory of Teaching and Outline of Methods. 



THEORY OF TEACHING. 



The first thought of a wise master builder for those who 
go down to the sea in ships, is safety of passage. One motive 
governs all other considerations : she shall reach her desti- 
nation and deliver safely all that has been committed to her. 

N 0TE —The Theory of Teaching here presented is from the author's p^pfer 
read before the Pennsylvania State Teachers' Association with only such 
change as has been deemed necessary to its adaptation here, and to the demand 
for a more comprehensive treatment. 



METHODS OF INSTRUCTION. 171 

Though her sails be of fine linen and her timber of the 
goodly cedar, and she be laden with the gold of Ophir or 
with the most precious stones, if her timbers yield to the bil_ 
lows, and her wealth be lost in the deep, all is lost, and her 
greatness remains only in the greatness of that loss. The 
magnificence of her stores only adds to the fearful responsi- 
bility of him who sent her upon the waves thus unworthy. 

While the educator is rearing the structure of the mind 
and freighting it with merchandise, he should remember 
that his work does not culminate with a sublime structure 
and an abundant cargo. It lies beyond that. He is not 
great whose mind is merely a great receptacle, though it be 
filled to the brim. That is the vessel of honor which bears 
suc3essfully from port to port all that has been committed 
to it, and he has built well who has meted out such strength 
and pace. He is the educated man, who, freighted with 
wise and noble thoughts, bears them successfully to their 
proper destination. It is the application of knowledge, not 
the possession of it, which constitutes the true end of educa- 
tion. The end of life is in giving, not in receiving. A man 
is estimated not for what the world gives to him, but for what 
he gives to the world. Our subject has to do with one great 
medium for the application of knowledge. Very much of 
our education, to be available, must be handled, exchanged, 
conveyed to its proper port. Like the vessel and its mer- 
chandise, it is valuable only at its destination. Along with 
knowledge, therefore, and in proportion to it, comes the de- 
mand for its proper conveyance and application. 

We are by no means disposed to ignore the fact that much 
has been achieved by the silent use of knowledge. Some of 
the richest fruits of philosophy, science and the arts, have 
been given to the world by men and women the most reti- 
cent and non-communicative. Through philosophy, inven- 
tion alone has given untold stimulus to civilization and 
religion, and advanced the world a thousand years. Science 
vies with Revelation in proclaiming the wonderful works of 
God. The arts are quietly lifting the race into a higher 



172 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

range of thought and feeling. They are hand-maicte <U phi* 
lanthropy and civilization, breathing " peace on eartn and 
good will to men." But it has been reserved ror tne human 
voice to mould and modify every phase and vicissitude of 
human life. Whether science or art, the family or the 
nation, the Church or State, politics or theology, philosophy 
or religion, its influence is felt in all. The human voice is 
the great medium for the conveyance of thought and feeling, 
the outlet and passage-way of the soul, the divine current 
which allies man to his fellow. It is the medium by which 
knowledge is made universal ; a canvas upon which we may 
throw thought and feeling that others may see and read. 
Soul is here brought to the surface, made tangible and 
portable. 

But to do this there is needed an instrument, skilled, 
accomplished, disciplined. It must not be supposed that the 
Creator has here made exception to the common law of 
development. Here, as in every other element of our being, 
it is " first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the 
ear." It is the common order : germ, form, fruit. And the 
common process : culture, protection, exercise. 

In.the treatment of the subject, we shall consider the im- 
portance of vocal culture from the teacher's standpoint ; cer- 
tain common, existing faults of instruction ; and such simple 
methods as may be presented without illustration. 

1. Importance. — The importance of a high cultivation of 
the voice is abundantly apparent to us. But it is not enough 
that a teacher be himself informed upon his subject; he 
must be able to inform others. It is not enough that he be 
full himself; he must fill others. How shall we present the 
practical bearings of this subject upon our scholars, so that 
they may be stimulated to their share of the work ? Stand- 
ing, therefore, in the teacher's stead for a few minutes, let us 
consider the relations of this subject to a generation now in 
our hands as clay in the hands of the potter. 

Education in any department is important in proportion 
as it gives a healthy development of strength and influence. 



METHODS OF INSTRUCTION. 173 

Whether considered with reference to self or the race, the 
Voice has the highest claims upon our attention. As a 
physical faculty, the exercise of the human voice concerns 
self. A correct, easy utterance demands a natural position 
of the body. Proper position conduces to symmetry of 
form, which means a healthy development of all the physical 
powers. It is a protection to the throat, giving to it muscu- 
lar strength and vigor. It promotes proper habits of breath- 
ing, and calls into play many of the most vital organs of the 
human body. Properly directed, it becomes a most practical 
source of health and grace to the whole being. 

Natural and healthful exercise is a condition of growth 
and development as absolute as air or food. It applies to 
our whole triune nature. I gain strength for to-morrow by 
what I have done to-day. The mind expands by its exer- 
tions. The heart that cherishes the affections of to-day, 
burns with a brighter and warmer benevolence to-morrow. 
The physical power, therefore, which calls into action the 
greatest aggregate amount of physical force, demands in 
proportion our attention and proper direction. We need 
only call to mind that the throat and lungs, the organs of 
respiration, the air we breathe and the manner of breathing 
it, the proper adjustment of all the parts of the body, posi- 
tion, dress, and digestion itself, are so related to a proper 
exercise of the voice as to receive the utmost advantage 
from it. 

Next to its uses for the sake of self, comes its bearing upon 
the family, and those most nearly allied to us, constituting 
what is known as t.ie Social Circle. Here begins the media- 
torial office of the voice. It becomes here the current of 
revelation from the within to the without ; and its power 
over the thoughts and affections which it bears from us, 
though not susceptible of measurement, must be regarded of 
vast importance. By it, human weakness may be brought to 
the surface, and set as a target for the finger of ridicule ; or 
it may be covered and hidden from view. Culture of mind 
and the purest affection which the heait can give forth, may 



174 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

come to the surface, coarse and almost vulgar ; or fresh, vig« 
orous and pure as the fountain whence they issue. 

The voice may be taught to reflect upon every relation of 
life. The business man lays his voice by the side of his wares, 
and the eye of the purchaser harmonizes with the ear in its 
iudgment. The ear hears a sound harsh and uncomely ; the 
eye pronounces the cloth coarse and wanting in polish. The 
ear hears a voice apologetic and shrinking; the eye pro- 
nounces the coffee of questionable quality, and the sugar 
adulterated. The ear hears a voice, firm, pure and confi- 
dent ; the eye sees a fabric of unusual firmness and dura- 
bility. We do not pronounce this principle of absolute 
force, but of such general bearing as to give it the highest 
importance. 

The public man presents himself first to the eye and the 
ear of his audience. His words approach the judgment with 
recommendations from these senses, favorable or unfavorable. 
If favorable, he sustains to the audience the position of a 
stranger who approaches you with a strong letter from your 
friend. You are thrown on his side, and prefer to help him 
if you can. So the judgment of the audience is thrown in 
the speaker's favor; it prefers to accept his words. If unfa- 
vorable, he sustains the relation of him whose approach to 
you has been preceded by unfair reflections upon his char- 
acter. He finds a barrier in the way of his access to you. 
The voice is in many instances a barrier in the way of a 
speaker's access to the mind and heart, weakening and modi- 
fying the words, sometimes to such a degree that they are 
utterly lost. The voice is often so at variance with the senti- 
ment, as to convey a meaning almost in contrast with the 
purpose of the speaker. But we dare not dwell. It may be 
readily shown in all relations, First, that the voice should 
satisfy, and, if it be possible, gratify the ear. Second, that it 
should sustain and strengthen the sentiment. Third, that it 
should vary in harmony with the sentiment. 

The culture of the voice should be taught as a matter of 
cleanliness. A sluggish, slovenly tone is as filthy as an un- 
combed head, or a collar ten days worn. It should be taught 



METHODS OF INSTRUCTION. 175 

as a matter of courtesy. You owe it to your neighbor to give 
him a pure tone as much as the tip of the hat or the morn- 
ing salutation. It should be taught as an element of happi- 
ness. Our highest happiness is reflex. It is that which 
comes back to us from the joy we have given to others. No 
other agency within the compass of our natural power is so 
adapted to the communication of happiness to others as the 
human voice. It should be taught as an agency of moral 
culture. A voice of dignity and elegance will attract to purity 
and truth, to virtue and religion. Correct sounds should be 
taught as a preservation of the language. Sounds errone- 
ously pronounced during school days will so develop the 
organs in that direction as to be corrected with difficulty. 
The habit will often prejudice the ear against that which is 
correct. 

Faults. — In considering the faults most common in our 
education of the voice, I call attention first to the wide- 
spread habit of forcing loud and boisterous tones, rather 
than intelligent responses. There is a tendency on the part 
of teachers to obtain sound without much reference to sense. 
Very often, too, it is obtained at the expense of every natu- 
ral use of the organs, rendering the voice harsh and discord- 
ant, and physically weakened. It has its worst phase in the 
harsh, fierce utterance of the letters of the alphabet, and in 
spelling and early reading lessons. The child should be 
taught to give the name of the first letter of the alphabet, 
and every letter intelligently, as it would to give the name of 
any one object in the room, whole, complete, with firm, pure, 
voice, and nothing more. A greater fault consists in the 
almost total want of attention to the voices of pupils outside 
of the few minutes devoted to the reading classes proper. 
Though the pupil may be in only one reading class, every 
class should be a voice class in which the voice is used. It is 
worse than absurd to expect any satisfactory results in the 
culture of the voice while it is used properly in one recitation 
and improperly in five. If there is anything in practice, then 
the faults of the voice must have greatly the advantage. 

Again, the body of sound is rarely correct. The a, e, i, o, u, 



176 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

of speech is neglected. The organs are not properly set, and 
in consequence there is not obtained that resonance and flexi- 
bility of which almost every voice is capable. Head tones, 
mouth tones, and throat tones are left uncorrected, and with 
every repetition, are more strongly fixed in the habit of the 
student. 

Then, there is great neglect of the true source of vocal 
strength. Few students in our public schools ever learn to 
command the lower part of the lungs and the abdominal 
muscles during utterance, and in consequence always use the 
voice to disadvantage. The lower muscles of the body con- 
stitute the fulcrum 'power of the voice, and to speak without 
using them is like lifting a heavy weight from an unnatural 
position. Strength is wasted. Thousands are constantly 
exhausting physical force in speech which might be saved if 
the proper organs were brought into play. Had we time we 
could adduce a number of instances of persons whose speech 
had become painful and burdensome, who so changed the 
location of the tone in a few days' time as to speak with 
entire ease. 

In Articulation there is almost a universal tendency to a 
sluggish and unfinished utterance of the sounds in a word. 
This fault has various forms, sometimes pervading the whole 
sentence, sometimes affecting only those words in which the 
lips or teeth have a prominent part to perform, and very 
often dropping the last sound of the word. A distinct 
enunciation reflects culture and education upon the speaker 
and shows such a respect for his words, on his own part, as 
will command the respect of the listener. Many of the 
sounds of the language are commonly pronounced incor- 
rectly. Almost every community has perverted some of the 
sounds to such a degree that they have entered into the 
common language of the community and become provincial. 
The teacher is the guardian of the tongue he speaks, and 
should conscientiously protect it from innovation upon the 
authorized sounds which compose the language. 

The faults of Expression in the average American are 



Methods of instruction. 177 

indeed " too numerous to mention." There is monotony of 
expression, and excess of expression. There is the formal, 
stilted, uniform rate, and the loose, reckless, hasty speech. 
There is the pious style of drawl and downward slide, and 
there is the coarse, abrupt and dogged style. Against all of 
these we may reverently use the language of the prayer- 
book, and ask to be delivered. 

A healthy child will usually be found to possess, in a very 
high degree, the elements of varied and appropriate ex- 
pression. It will use the high and the low, the loud and the 
soft, the fast and the slow, with wonderful faithfulness to the 
meaning and would very often require little but protection, 
but too often the example of the playmate and the parent 
and the misdirection of the teacher are sufficient, within very 
early years, to supplant natural simplicity of expression and 
establish in its place painfully unnatural habits. 

In Gesture, the faults of position and movement, like those of 
expression, are usually acquired through example and mis- 
direction. The child of six, compelled to sit on a square 
foot of territory six hours in the day, will break down under 
the unnatural oppression and the form will droop. The boy 
that is required to " stand erect " only on Friday afternoon, 
when he "speaks his piece," will absorb the idea of a 
mechanical uprightness for the speaking occasion, and that 
some such preparation is necessary every time he makes his 
speech ; and we accordingly find in the pulpit and at the bar 
more uprightness than grace. The healthy little child, as a 
rule, is graceful and appropriate in its movements. The 
larger child has rounded shoulders and drags his feet a little. 
The largest child droops in body, walks with bowed legs and 
carries his head at an unnatural poise, and the man and 
woman are the natural result of the years of such training. 

8. Remedy. — The remedy for many of the faults so common 
in speech lies within the reach of almost every teacher. No 
instrument was ever committed to human care and manage- 
ment, capable of such delicate variety and harmony as the 
voice of the average child. Pure as the morning breeze, 



178 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

sporting as the winged songster, versatile as the mountain 
stream, is the prattle of happy childhood. Nature has 
shown herself more lavish in the instrument of communica- 
tion than in the knowledge to be communicated. The God- 
given voice is greatly superior to the God-given knowledge. 
The natural suggestion is, that the culture of the voice should 
be assigned its proper place in the van of all higher culture. 
The fact is, they are educated inversely. Processes of devel- 
opment are applied to the mind tending to natural and vig- 
orous growth. A lifetime is devoted to storing in knowledge, 
while the great channel of communication is almost entirely 
neglected. The voice is left to itself; and, in one, is dwarfed 
for want of the necessary attention and nourishment; in 
another, for want of proper pruning and direction, is allowed 
to run into the most unnatural vagaries. 

We submit, there should be early attention given to the 
habits of voice in the child. The voice in recitation should 
not be diverted from the simplest and purest tones of its 
ordinary use. When false tendencies are discovered, they 
should be promptly corrected, whether on the play-ground, 
in the morning salutation, or in the grammar recitation, as 
well as in the reading class. The current of tone should be 
kept in the proper channel, and the stimulants of cleanliness, 
courtesy, business and morality, to which reference has 
already been made, applied in due proportion and with due 
caution. A faculty of such constant exercise, it is eminently 
important that the most careful attention be given to the 
habit of voice in the practice of the child. 

I am told that so little attention has been given to this 
subject in the education of the teacher, that he is unprepared 
to criticise the voice of the pupil. 

While admitting the force of the difficulty, yet were he 
ordinarily to apply the principle of correcting bad habits as 
far as he knows, we believe great good would be done, and 
he would be led to the discovery of much that is unknown. 

In addition to this direction and correction of the voice, 
pleasing and varied exercises should be mingled with the 



METHODS OF INSTRUCTION. 179 

reading exercises, such as the ear will enjoy. The ear should 
be led as rapidly as possible to enjoy sounds. It will thus 
soon discriminate between what it likes and what it dislikes, 
and this accomplished, the point of a higher and closer dis- 
crimination is not far distant. The teacher should aim to 
secure in the pupil the criticism of his own ear. A most 
important work is done when this is attained. Every indica- 
tion in this direction should be encouraged by the teacher. 
When the flat, high, hard, harsh or excessive nasal tones are 
observed by the pupil, and hurt as they fall upon the ear, the 
teacher's work is largely done. The student is then put under 
a critic more faithful and constant than the teacher can pos- 
sibly be to him. 

Nothing can take the place of judicious exercise of the 
elementary sounds in early practice. The drill on these, 
carefully varied, should form a daily exercise in our primary 
schools. The greatest care should be taken in all these ex- 
ercises to develop chest tones, versus head, throat, or mouth 
tones. I shall suggest a single additional element in the cul- 
ture of the voice. The teacher cannot impress the value of 
proper breathing with too much emphasis. Deep, full breath- 
ing should be urged as a habit, not merely as an exercise. 
Every muscle and organ within the whole range of the re- 
spiratory system should act with each successive breath. 
The intercostal muscles are very largely dependent upon 
breathing for their exercise. By it, the lungs are rendered 
capacious and flexible, the muscles of the sides and back are 
strengthened, the whole body has added form and comeli- 
ness, and the voice obtains a strength and resonance which 
it can have from no other source. 

A new era is dawning in the history of education with 
reference to human speech. In our haste after principles 
we have overlooked the fact, that culture as well as know- 
ledge must supplement nature. In the palmy days of oratory, 
and in the age of its masters, the culture of the voice was 
held of first importance. We believe that within the possi- 
bilities of this wonderful instrument, there may be found & 



1 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

response to every sentiment of the mind and every emotion 
of the heart. And it is not an idle hope that in proportion 
as the mind of man expands to a wider range, and the 
human heart glows in a higher benevolence, and human 
nature is absolved from sin, the voice may be first to reflect 
the Divine image, in tones such as make up the melody of 
Heaven. 



OUTLINE OF METHODS. 



Primary Instruction. 



Idea. 
Word. 



f Idea word. 



I Other words. 



Sound. 

Letter. 

Reading. 



Suggestion to the Teacher.— While it is believed that a somewhat definite 
order of outline will best represent to the teacher the important principles in- 
volved in Primary Instruction, yet it is by no means supposed that he will 
follow, slavishly, the explanation of the several steps here given. 



The teacher should have in mind some simple sentence, 
for example, "It is my hat." Presuming that the pupils 
know nothing of the letters or words, the task before him is 
to teach them the thought of the sen{ence, the four words, the 
seven different letters and the seven sounds which compose 
the sentence, and to enable them to express the thought 
naturally, uoon sight. The latter is preeminently the end to 



METHODS OF INSTRUCTION. 181 

be attained, and the steps leading to it should be so con- 
ducted as will best accomplish this end. 

Idea. — The teacher may introduce the object hat to his 
class, and conduct an object lesson. It will aid in impressing 
the appearance of the word when it is presented. 

Idea Word. — The class may be lead by appropriate ques- 
tions, to the idea involved in the sentence. When I say 
" hat," what do you think about ? When I show you this 
(pointing to the object, hat), what do you think about? 
What is the name of this object? That name is a word. 
Can you see the word " hat " when I say it with my mouth ? 
Where are words put so that you can see them? Would you 
know the word "hat "if I should show it to you? I will 
now show youthe word " hat," and I want you to remember 
what it looks like, so that you will know it whenever you 
see it. 

Nothing more should be attempted at this lesson than to 
impress the appearance of the word " hat " upon the minds 
of the class. 

Sounds. — By prolonging the pronunciation of the word 
u hat," the teacher can readily show to the smallest class, 
that it is composed of different sounds ; and that, to say the 
word "hat" is only to put these sounds so close together that 
no one will know where they are separated. The children 
should, at the same time, be taught to give the sounds. 

Letter. — Each one of these sounds has a name. Tell the 
children that the name of the first sound heard in the word 
" hat " is h. Show them the letter h and show them that it 
is the same as the first mark or form in the word "hat." 
The sound and the name of the sound should then be 
frequently alternated until the class will associate them 
readily, and promptly recognize either. 

Other Words. — The other words of the sentence should 
be taught first by name and then separated into sounds 
according to the methods suggested for the word " hat." 

Reading. — The teacher of primary pupils should not 
force upon them any technical definition of Reading, but he 



182 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

should so conduct their approach to it, that they will absorb 
the idea that Reading is saying something from words that are 
seen. 

The pupils, before seeing the sentence, "It is my hat," 
should be capable of pronouncing the words of the sentence 
upon sight, as promptly as they would pronounce the 
names of their classmates or of their brothers and sisters. 
The teacher should call from the child an expression of the 
sentence before it is seen : " Harry, suppose your hat is in 
your hand. If I ask you, whose hat have you in your hand, 
what will you say?" He may answer, "It's mine." The 
teacher need only tell him that it is prettier and more cor- 
rect to say, "It is my hat," and that, as he comes to school 
to learn, he should now answer in those words. Harry, 
whose hat is that? The answer will be an expression and not 
a merely formal utterance of the words, as if the teacher had 
pointed in succession to "It" and "is" and "my" and 
"hat." The expression thus obtained should then be used as 
a model for the child. How did you say "It is my hat?" 
The child repeats, and in the repetition is copying from his 
own natural expression, or from nature. 

The model having been obtained, let the teacher direct the 
pupils to the sentence upon the board or chart, asking, 
"What have you in your hand?" They will answer with 
a proper expression of the words which their eyes now see. 
Tell them this is reading, and they have absorbed the idea 
that Reading is saying something from words that are seen. 

The object has been to approach Reading by another path 
than through pronunciation. The usual impression ieft 
upon the child is, "When I can pronounce the words of the 
sentence, I can read it. I can pronounce the words of this 
sentence, therefore I can read it." This is fundamentally 
wrong. It is exalting a prerequisite of reading to reading. 
Pronunciation, or knowing words on sight, is as much a pre- 
requisite of Reading as knowing figures is a prerequisite of 
arithmetic. Pupils should be constantly impressed with the 
idea, when they attempt to read, that it is taken for granted 



METHODS OF INSTRUCTION. 183 

that they know the words. By the above process, the pupil 
will be early led to comprehend that when he, knowing the 
words, knows what they mean, and says them that others may 
know what they mean, he is reading. 



ADVANCED INSTRUCTION. 

Processes for the cultivation and modulation of the voice, 
a further knowledge of the sounds of the language and 
of their modifications, and the study and practice of gesture, 
should here be introduced, according to the age and grade of 
the pupils, and continued systematically in connection with 
all the lessons in reading. The principles governing Primary 
Instruction should be continued as long as there is necessity 
for them. The great principle there presented should be 
kept equally prominent in Advanced Instruction. 

The following outline is presented as a suggestive guide to 
the teacher of the advanced reading class : 

First. Read the lesson for the class. 

Note.— Pupils will thus obtain a general impression of the selection, and 
will be stimulated to the preparation of the thought. 

Second. Pupils prepare sentiment of the lesson. 

Note.— This relates to their study of the selection between recitations. 

Third. Pupils give back the sentiment of the lesson in 
their own words, with explanation and anecdote. 

Note. — At least one period should be thus devoted preparatory to reading a' 
new selection. It is a test of the pupils' knowledge of the sentiment. It culti- 
vates conversation outside of the usual commonplace conversation of chil- 
dren. It cultivates a conversational style of expression and establishes the 
tJwught of the lesson in the mind of the pupil. 

Fourth. Word preparation. 
Fifth. Reading. 

Note.— Only a part of the lesson should be assigned for word preparation and 
reading, by which we refer to such practice on the difficult words as will secure 
their familiarity to the eye of the scholar; also, the reading of individual sen- 
tences and paragraphs with reference to exprea*io». 



184 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

Sixth. Review upon merit. 

Note 1. — A half dozen lessons may be devoted to the above exercises npon a 
single selection. The pupils shou'.d be marked upon their lessons as in othel 
branches, and allowed, according to the rank of their marks, to read a part 
or all of the selection before tbe class. This exercise may be continued in tbe 
order of the marks received upon preparation, until all have read before the 
class. 

Note 2.— Two selections may be kept before tbe class at one time, one in the 
process of review upon merit, the other in tbe process of preparation. This, 
with practical exercises, as suggested, will give abundant variety to the recita- 
tion. 

To the Teacher.— The teacher who desires to obtain for his pupils rapid 
progress in pure, natural expression, should be faithful in his observation and 
criticism upon their habits of speech in all the recitations of ( lie school, and 
as he may meet them at their homes or upon the playground The lesson in 
geography or arithmetic should be given in pure voice, clear ej^aeiatioa, and 
with intelligent expression. 



APPENDIX. 



MISCELLANEOUS SUGGESTIONS. 



1. In Reading and Speaking, let each separate thought be 
Well denned ; let it be expressed with full meaning and in 
due proportion. 

2. With reference to Enunciation there should be such a 
nearness of the words, the one to the other, as will preserve 
a magnetic connection, and yet sufficient separation to pro- 
tect the individuality of each. A failure to observe the first 
will give a labored style; and a failure to observe the second 
will produce indistinctness. 

3. The speaker should be governed by the following funda- 
mental principles in the study of Public Address. First. 
He should reduce the expression to natural and original 
simplicity and truth, measured by an appropriate conversa- 
tion of the same language to a single individual. Second. 
He should so magnify that original simplicity that it may be 
as forcible to each of a multitude as it would have been if ad- 
dressed to one individual. 

4. The student should practice frequently, and observe his 
habit constantly, rather than to continue practice until weary 
and disinterested. 



186 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

5. In reference to style of expression, the student should 
practice often against inclination and natural taste ; other- 
wise he will become limited in style. 

6. Reserve characterization for such sentiment as is depend- 
ent upon the characterization for its effect. When it is ap- 
parent that an author has written for the thought, though put 
in the mouth of a specific character, the reader should make 
prominent the thought rather than divert it by intruding the 
character. 

7. The study of Elocution is the study of the highest natu- 
ral expression. Our highest natural expression can only be 
attained through our highest manhood and womanhood. 
The student, therefore, should regard character in voice 
and manner as of primary importance in the study of Elocu- 
tion. 



EMPHASIS. 



Emphasis gives due prominence to the important thoughts 
of discourse. It employs all the processes of expression, 
quality, pitch, force, time, and slides. 

A sentence is usually composed of a capital idea, subordi- 
nate or dependent ideas, and their connections. The word 
or words expressing the capital idea represent the object for 
which the sentence was written, and claim such emphasis 
as will give it corresponding prominence in speech. The 
subordinate ideas are modifications of the capital thought, 
and the word or words expressing them require correspond- 
ing modifications of emphasis. The connectives are the 
linkings of the capital and subordinate ideas, and usually 
require little more than a correct vocal utterance for their 
expression. Varied and appropriate emphasis constitutes 
the highest skill of intellectual expression. 

Grouping. — A proper grouping of words closely related to 
each other is highly important to correct Emphasis. 



APPENDIX. 187 



, MISCELLANEOUS VOCAL EXERCISES. 

Note.— The following exercises may be made a continuation of the Table of 
Vocal Exercises on page 41. They may b6 used with great interest and profit 
by the judicious teacher in connection with, or in preparation for, the regular 
reading lesson. 

e 
ah ah 

1. aw aw 

Note.— These sounds, in the order they are placed, if properly rendered, 
will represent the purest chest, throat, and head tones of which the voice is 
capable. The student should be careful to observe that there is a pure throat 
tone and a pure head tone, in contradistinction from the chest tone, but that 
each should possess what may be termed a chest resonance. 

2. Co, boss ! co, boss ! co ! co ! co ! 

3. Toll, toll, toll. Hurrah ! hurrah ! hurrah ! 

4. i., a, e, &, I, l, 6, 6, u, u. 

Note.— These may be practiced in various ways, but a special advantage may 
be received from their frequent repetition in the same breath. 

5. Select the names of a number of hotels, and express 
them according to taste or fancy, in imitation of a variety of 
hackmen at a railroad depot. 

6. Battalion — Eight about — Turn — Forward. 
Halt— Fix Bayonets — Quick — March. 
Double — Charge. 

7. " Pull, pull in your lassos and bridle to steed, 

And speed, if ever for life you would speed, 
And ride for your lives, for your lives you must ride ; 
For the plain is aflame, the prairie on fire; 
And feet of wild horses hard flying before, 
I hear like a sea breaking high on the shore; 
While the buffalo come like the surge of the sea, 
Driven far by the flame, driving fast on us three, 
As a hurricane comes, crushing palms in his ire :" 

Note. — This exercise is given with special reference to economy of breath. 
Bead rapidly, articulate distinctly, and consume the least possible breath. 



188 



PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 



8. 



Charcoal, charcoal, charcoal. 



Charcoal, charcoal, charcoal. 



charcoal, charcoal, charcoal. 

Charcoal, charcoal, charcoal, 



ol, charcoal, charco 



Charco 



ol, charcoal. 



Note.— In the first of these exercises there should he a separation of pitch 
hetwcen the first three and the second three, to the extent of an octave. In the 
second, change the pitch to the same degree upon each successive word. In the 
third exercise, let the voice pass through the same degree of pitch, making the 
changes as the diagram suggests. 



9. Vary the long vowel sounds among the different forms, 
(as represented by the Table of Vocal Exercises,) changing 
at will ; also according to the several qualities and other 
modulations of voice. 

10. Oyez! oyez! All — persons — having — business — to — 
do— with— the— Circuit— Court— of — the —United— States— 
for — the — Southern — District — of — New — York — draw — near 
—give— your— attention— and— you— shall— be— heard. 



11. Boat ahoy ! 




g-fi-fl-i-t-^ 

•4- -4-4- -4- -*- ~a-0- -#- 



F=fv* 



m 



I hear them now up-on the hill, I hear them faint-er and faint-er still. 
I hear them now up-on the hill, I hear them faint-er and faint-er still. 
I hear them now up-on the hill, I hear them faint-er and faint-er still. 

A A 



T=T- 



*=*=* 



They stole, they stole, they stole my child a - way. 
They stole, they stole, they stole my child a - way. 



APPENDIX* 189 



LAUGHTER. 



No other exercise is more healthful, either to the mind or 
body, than pure, natural laughter. The judicious practice of 
this as an exercise, in representation of the various styles of 
laughter, will be found useful and invigorating. Here again 
the long vowel sounds alone, or preceded by the sound of hi 
may be used with excellent effect. The student will readily 
find other exercises appropriate for practice. 

BIBLE READING. 

It will be conceded that no other language is so rich in 
meaning as the language of the Bible. Great leading truths 
are but the branches upon which cluster the most varied 
practical lessons of wisdom and virtue. 

Almost whole books of the sacred writings are marked in 
each successive sentence with this abundant fruitfulness of 
meaning. "With but an equal amount of attention and 
preparation, it is, therefore, but natural that there would be 
correspondingly, a greater failure in giving full and complete 
expression to the language of the Bible than to the language 
of human origin. 

In the most ordinary forms of speech, a part of the sense 
is constantly lost for want of a proper adaptation in the 
modulations of the voice. How much more this must be 
true where almost every word has an important bearing 
upon the whole, thus requiring a constantly changing 
variety of tone, time, stress and slide, in giving completeness 
to the sense. Here may be based two great classes of evils 
in expression. 

1st. That form of expression which yields only a part of the 
meaning. "We have a vast field of utterance, marked by 
various degrees of monotony, in which only a part of the 
meaning is brought out. No injustice may be done to that 
which is said, but it is not all said. Important words are lost 



190 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

in the general tone. The lights and shades of modulation 
are slighted, thus robbing the author of much that his words 
should have been made to convey. Through ignorance of 
the power of these changes, or the neglect of them, precious 
utterances are rendered fruitless and barren. 

2d. A perversion of the true meaning. A quality of voice at 
variance with the sentiment, an improper pitch, a misplaced 
emphasis, inappropriate time, a false slide or inflection, may 
so utterly destroy the sense, and misrepresent the meaning, as 
to divert the words entirely from their purpose. 

It should be made the conscientious practice of every 
reader of the Bible, first to satisfy his own mind as to the 
meaning of each passage, and then to see that his rendering 
will properly represent that meaning. 

In addition to these common wants of expression, there is 
a variety of styles, in popular use, peculiar to Bible reading, 
against which we utter a most respectful, though a most 
earnest protest. 

1st. Professional Style. 

This is capable of sub-division into a number of varieties, 
but with so little in favor of either, as to give no ground for 
distinction in the general objection. The reader should 
avoid any style that is professional, if for no other reason than 
that it is professional. 

2d. Inflated Style. 

There is that form of utterance which says in the tone and 
manner, "I am commissioned to handle this message. 
Behold me! Listen to me!" At which, great swelling 
sounds issue forth, with the unfortunate effect that Divine 
words are lost in human sound. We should ever recognize by 
a humility of tone and manner that the words are Jehovah's. 

3d. Pious Tone. 

We are not opposed to the utmost purity of voice, marked 
with a manly dignity and a becoming solemnity, but there 
prevails a variety of cant and whine which should fall under 



APPENDIX. 191 

the same condemnation which God Himself pronounces 
upon other Up service. The best gift which God gave to man 
in the flesh, is his manhood; and we will not believe that He 
meant we should lose that manhood when uttering His 
words. If ever it should glow and burn in all its Divine 
origin, it is when thus standing in God's stead. 

4th. Trifling Style. 

This style, in contrast with professional dignity and exces- 
sive piety, is no less to be guarded against. King's messages, 
the proclamations of Chief Magistrates, the language of the 
wise and learned, claim a corresponding dignity of expres- 
sion ; how much more the words of Infinite Power and of 
Infinite Wisdom. 

It is evident that the very purpose of the Divine Word 
may be thwarted by the tone and manner. God has made 
His word simple. Do not rob it of that simplicity by bring- 
ing in a profundity of expression, He has brought it down 
to the comprehension of the human mind. Do not give 
such an inhuman utterance as to raise it up out of the reach 
of humanity. 

God has made it plain. Do not involve it in mystery by 
vacant, weird and professional tones. God meant it for man. 
Do not read it to the angels. It is the word of the dear 
Heavenly Father, full of mercy and the tenderest affection. 
Do not read it as the message of an Absolute Monarch. 
Yet, it is God's word. Avoid that reckless vagabondish man- 
ner which so often marks the utterance of human language. 

It is God's truth, meant for man. Read it as of old they 
read " in the law of God, distinctly, and gave the sense, and 
caused them to understand the reading." 

SOUND TO SENSE. 

A vast number of words in the language afford special 
opportunity for significant expression through the sounds of 
which they are composed. There is an obvious harmony 



192 PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

between the sounds and the meaning of the words, as in 
the following examples : Dash, round, noble, rich, sublime, 
brisk, strength, poor, little, great, whirlwind, glory, rough, 
smooth, fresh, victory, thunder, old, ragged, murmur, repose. 

Note. — Snch words are much more numerous than is generally supposed, 
and they should be carefully practiced in the preparation of a selection. 



TRANSITION. 

Prompt and appropriate change of voice and manner in 
harmony with the changing effects of language, is indis- 
pensable to the art of expression. Discourse is often like the 
dissolving view, interesting and effective largely from its 
contrasts. It requires one or more of the corresponding 
contrasts of quality, pitch, force, time, position, countenance, 
or movement. 

ANALYSIS. 

With a view to a clear comprehension of the language to 
be spoken, it is highly important that the student form the 
habit of a close analysis of the thought, and of the applica- 
tion of modulation and action to its expression. The intelli- 
gent student of literature will have practical methods for the 
menial analysis of sentiment, yet he may be aided towards 
its expression by the answer of such questions as the follow- 
ing: Who wrote the language? When did he write it? 
Why did he write it ? What were the motives which prompted 
him to think the thought here expressed? What would be 
the state of mind and heart of one in a condition to utter 
such language? If the conditions of life had so borne upon 
me as to call from me such thought, how would I express it? 

When the reader has thus investigated the language of the 
author, and analyzed the source of the thought it expresses, 
he has touched a corresponding source in his own nature, and 
has sprung upon himself the motives and the conditions of 
mind and body best fitted to its expression. 



APPENDIX. 193 

In addition to this general analysis he may also ascertain 
the character of tone, the changes of tone, the position 
of the body, and the movement necessary to express the 
particular thought. What general quality of voice should 
be used to express the thought? Does the language suggest 
any exception to the general quality ? What is the general 
pitch? And what are the exceptions to the general pitch? 
What is the prevailing force and what are the exceptions to 
the prevailing force? With reference to slides, do the 
positive or negative qualities of sentiment prevail ? What 
attitude or position of body would best reflect the general 
thought, and what changes are demanded? What of the 
facial expression ? Does the language suggest conversational, 
oratorical, or dramatic action ? 

Such analysis as this on the part of the student will lead 
to a prompt and appropriate association of voice and manner 
with the sentiment to be expressed. 

Note. — The student will constantly find difficulty in distinguishing the quality 
of the voice or the degree of pitch or force, or the shade of slide, or the particu- 
lar action which the thought suggests. Sentiment is so subtle and its changes 
so imperceptible that it will be impossible to follow it by any order of reasoning, 
and he must be content with discovering the tendency of the thought with refer* 
ence to the various mediums of expression. 



REPOSE. 

Our conceptions of God lead us to think of a being not idle, 
but one to whom labor is rest; so wise that He knows without 
exertion ; so abundant in resources that the supply is ever 
equal to the demand. A noble conception of God has never 
created a being subject to excitement, or agitation, or one 
who could be moved or changed by the agitations of His 
creatures. He spake and it was brought forth. He speaks 
and it is done. He bids alike the storm or the calm. He 
commands the light or the darkness, and it obeys him. 

Art is the effort of the creature to reproduce the work of 



li)l PRACTICAL ELOCUTION. 

the Creator. When God made man, He breathed into him 
the breath of life, and in that breath of life was the breath or 
germ of divinity, and in proportion as man becomes infused 
with the divine breath, in proportion as he has much of God 
within him may he hope to breathe into his art divine breath, 
be it the marble, the canvas, the printed page, or the human 
voice ; and no other power of art will so reflect divine power 
as repose. The highest power is mastery, and the highest 
mastery is self-mastery, and of self-mastery repose is the em- 
blem. The orator, next to God himself, needs to possess 
the world, and to possess the world he must first possess him- 
self, — his hand, his foot, his eye, his breath, his body, his 
mind, his soul. Then, art shall have linked itself with 
divinity. 



INDEX. 



Abdominal Muscles, 37. 

Accent, seat of, 89-91. 

Active Position, 143; advanced and re- 
tired postures, 143; examples for 
practice in the active position, ad- 
vanced, 144 ; retired, 145. 

Adam's Apple, 37. 

Adaptation, essential to correct ex- 
pression, 113. 

Adaptation of Gesture to Speech, 
169. 

Adoration (gesture), 157. 

Advanced Instruction, 183, 184. 

Affectation (facial expression), 162. 

Affliction (gesture), 157. 

Alphabetic Equivalents, 85. 

"Amidst the Mists," &c, 78. 

Analysis of Language, essential to cor- 
rect expression, 112. 

Analysis of Principles of Elocution, 
18 ; explanation, 19. 

Analysis of the Thought, 192. 

And, how pronounced, 102. 

Anger (facial expression), 161. 

Anger (gesture), 157. 

Appeal to Conscience (gesture), 156. 

Appendix, miscellaneous suggestions, 
185 ; Emphasis, 186 ; miscellaneous 
vocal exercises, 187; laughter, 189 ; 
Bible reading, 189 ; relations of 
sound tosense, 191 ; transition, 191; 
analysis, 192 ; repose, 193. 

Appropriate changes of Time reflect 
Bell-control, 123. 



Appropriate Quantity, essential to cor- 
rect expression, 127. 

Arm Movements, 146; their purpose, 
146 ; examples for practice, 147, 148. 

Art, defined, 193, 194. 

Articles, a and the, 102. 

Articulation, 69 ; definition, 69; impor- 
tance, 69; its scope, 70; standard of 
pronunciation, 70; Webster or Wor- 
cester, 71; exercises in articulation, 
74 ; how to learn to spell phoneti- 
cally, 75,76 ; words for spelling,74, 84, 
87,99,100,101 ; long and short vowels, 
78, 79 , subtonic combinations, 80,84, 
87, 88; classifications of elementary 
sounds, 80, 81 ; diacritical points,81 ; 
practical hints upon a few voice 
sounds, 82, 83 ; equivalents, 85, cog- 
nates, 86 ; contrasts, 86; seat of the 
accent, 94 96; prefixes, 91-94; termi- 
nations, 89 91; unaccented vowels, 
97-99 : words often mispronounced, 
99-101; recreations in articulation, 
103-111. 

Ascending Line of Direction (arm 
movements), 146 ; examples for prac- 
tice,one handsupine,150 ; both hands 
supine, 153; one hand prone, 153; 
both hands prone ; one band vertical, 
154 ; both hands vertical, 155. 

Aspirated, 64; examples, 67. 

Aspirate combinations, 84. 

Attention (gesture), 156. 

Author's Opportunities for knowing 
the wants of teachers, 170. 

B following m, 101. 

"Ba-pa," &c, 79, 84, 86, 87, 88. 

195 



196 



INDEX, 



Bible Reading, 189. 

Body, movements of, 145. 

Breathing, 38; what we breathe, 38; 

why we breathe, 39 ; how we breathe, 

39 ; breathing exercises, 39, 40. 
Breath Sounds, 81. 
Business Life, as related to Elocution, 

22. 
Cautions (gesture), 169. 
" Ceaseth Approacheth," &c, 79. 
Charge of the Light Brigade (gesture), 

166. 

Chart, Outline of Elocution, 18 ; ex- 

Tlanabion, 19. 
Chart of Vocal Exercises, 41. 
Chart, (gesture), 141. 
Circumflex, 132 ; examples for practice, 

139, 140. 
Clasped Hands (gesture), 156. 

Classification of Elementary Sounds, 
80. 

Climax, 168. 

Clinched Hands (gesture), 157. 

Coalescents, 81 ; ar, er, or and ur, in- 
correctly sounded, 83. 

Cognates, 86. 

Combination Exercise in pitch, force, 
and Kate, 126. 

Comprehension of the sentiment es- 
sential to the expression, 112. 

Conscience (gesture), 156. 

Contents, 15. 

Contrasts, 86. 

Conversation, 23 ; for its own sake, 23 ; 
Summary, 24 ; suggestions to stu- 
dents, 24; conversational exercises s 
25-29 ; conversation in its relation to 
reading, 30, 31 , analogy between it 
and reading, 30; distinction between 
it and reading, 30; models for read- 
ing found in conversation, 31 ; im- 
personation, 31 ; conversation in its 
relation to public address. 32 ; anal- 
ogy between it and public address, 
32; distinction between it and pub- 
lic address, 32; illustration, 32, 33 ; 
guide to public address, 33 ; remarks 
upon the distinction between con- 
versation and public address, 34; 
models for public speech found in 
pure conversation, 34; general sum- 
mary, 34 ; the germs of elocution 
found in pure conversation, 35. 

Conversational Gestures, 142. 
Conversational Slide, 131 • examples 
for practice, 135,137. 



Crowning Power of Expression, 131. 

Crude Gestures, 169. 

Curved and Straight Lines, (arm 
movements), 147 ; guiding princi- 
ples, 146 ; examples lor practice, 148. 

Definition of Articulation, 69. 

Definition of Elocution, 20. 

Defiance (facial expression), 161. 

Defiance (gesture), 157. 

Descending Line of Direction, (arm 
movements), 152; examples for prac- 
tice, 152; one hand supine, 152; both 
hands supine, 152; one hand prone, 
153 : both hands prone, 153. 

Development of Voice, 38 ; its distinc- 
tive aim, 38 ; breathing, 33; breath- 
ing exercises, 39, 40 ; vocal exercises, 
40, 41. 

Diacritical Points, 81. 

Diaphragm, 36, 37. 

Dictionaries, 71, 72. 

Direction of Lines, whether middle, 
ascending, or descending, 148. 

Double Gestures, 150. 

Dramatic Gestures, 142. 

Drawing Sword (gesture), 157. 

Dropping Hands (gesture), 157. 

Ear Training, 69. 

Effusive, examples, 47, 48. 

Elementary Sounds, classification, 
80 ; table of, 81. 

Elocution, outline of, 18 ; explanation, 
19. 

Emotion and Fervor often mistaken 
for correct expression, 113. 

Emphasis, 185 ; capital idea, 186; subor- 
dinate idea, 186. Connections, group- 
ing, 186. 

Emphasis, Gestures of, 146; examples 
for practice, 147. 

Emphatic Slide, 131; examples foi 
practice, 137, 138. 

Enunciation, 185. 

Equivalents, 85. 

Essentials of Expression, 112. 

Excess in Gesture, 169. 

Exercises in Articulation, 73 — 88. 

Exercises in Breathing, 39; chest, 39," 
costal, 39 ; waist, 39 ; dorsal, 39; ab- 
dominal, 39 ; full, 40; prolonged, 40; 
effusive, 40; expulsive, 40; explo 
sive, 40. 

Exercises "in Conversational Styles. 
25—29. 



INDEX. 



197 



Exercise in pitch, force, and rate com- 
bined, 126. 

Explanation of Outline of Elocution, 
19. 

Explosive, examples in, 49, 50. 

Expression, 112; modulation, 113; 
quality, 113 ; pitch, 113 ; examples 
of medium pitch, 114, 115; of high 
pitch, 115, 116; of low pitch, 117; 
force, 118 ; examples in medium 
force, 119 ; in full force, 120 ; in sub- 
dued force, 121 ; time, 122 ; rate, 123; 
examples in medium rate, 123; in 
rapid rate, 124; ia slow rate, 125; 
combination exercise, 126 ; quantity, 
127; examples in medium quantity, 
127 ; in long quantity, 128; in short 
quantity, 128, 129; pause, 129, 130: 
rhetorical combined with gram- 
matical pause, 130; slides, 131; ex- 
ercises in slides, 132—135; in conver- 
sational slides, 135—137; in emphatic 
slides, 137, 138 ; wave or circumflex, 
139, 140. 

Expulsive, examples in, 49. 

Extreme Fear (facial expression), 162. 

Extreme Surprise (facial expression), 
163. 

Exultation (facial expression), 163. 

Exultation (gesture), 156. 

Facial Expression, unimpassioned and 
impassioned, 158, 159 ; guiding prin- 
ciples, 159; examples for practice, 
159, 163. 

Falling Circumflex, 132. 

False Gestures, 169. 

Falsetto, 67 68; examples for practice, 
68. 

Faults of Articulation, 176. 

Faults in Bible Reading, 189, 191. 

Faults of Expression, 176, 177. 

Faults of Gesture, 177. 

Faults of Voice in the schoolroomi 
175. 

Faulty Pronunciation, how corrected, 
73. 

Feet, position, 143. 

Finger Index, 158. 

Flourish of the Hand (gesture), 156.^ 

Force, 118; not arbitrary, 118 ; how pro- 
duced, 118 ; distinguished from noise, 
118; examples of medium, subdued, 
and full, 119—122. 

Free Gymnastics, 54. 

Fulcrum Power of the Voice, 176. 

Full Breathing, examples in, 53. 



Full Force, 119; examples for practice, 
120, 121. 

Fundamental Principles of Public 
Address, 185. 

General Suggestions, (gesture,) 168. 

General View of Elocution, 18; expla- 
nation, 19. 

Gesture, 141; outline, 141; conversa- 
tional gestures, 142 ; oratorical ges«. 
tures, 142; dramatic gestures, 142; 
position, 143 ; examples for practice 
in the various positions, 144 ; move- 
ments of the body, 145 ; head, 145; 
arm, 146; examples for practice, 147; 
lines, 147; guiding principles, 147; 
position of hand, 149; examples for 
practice, 150 ; lower limbs, 157 ; in- 
dex finger, 158; facial expression, 
158 ; guiding principles, 159 ; unim- 
passioned facial expression, 159, 160; 
impassioned, 160: reverence, pathos, 
joyousness, 160; secrecy, indignant 
command, anger, defiance, resigna- 
tion, sadness, grief, extreme surprise, 
161 ; hatred, extreme fear, jealousy, 
triumph, affection, hunger, and sad- 
ness, scorn, 162; terror, revenge, ex- 
ultation, 163; miscellaneous exer- 
cises, 163 — 168; general suggestions, 
168 ; cautions to be observed, 169. 

Gesture a Supplement to Speech, 
141. 

Gestures, conversational, 142 ; dramatic, 
142. 

Gesture, General Suggestions, 168 ; not 
arbitrary, but subject to certain nat- 
ural laws, ; special exercises, 156 
—158. 

Gestures— of emphasis, 146; examples 
for practice, 147; of illustration, 146; 
examples for practice. 147; of loca- 
tion, 146; examples for practice, 147; 
oratorical, 142. 

Graceful Carriage, 

Grammatical Pause, 129. 

Grief, (facial expression,) 161. 

Grouping, 186. 

Guide to Public Address, 33. 

Guiding Principles in facial expres- 
sion, 159; in the use of the lower 
limbs, 157, 158. 

Guttural, 64 ; examples in, 65, 66. 

Gymnastics, 54 ; Free Gymnastics- 
First series, 54 ; second series, 55 ; 
explanation of first series, 55, 57 -, ex- 
planation of second series, 57, 58. 

Hand, Position of, 

Hatred (facial expression), 163. 



198 



INDEX. 



"He adds fourths, fifths," &c, 85. 
Head movements, 145. 
Heart (gesture,) 156. 

High Pitch, 114; examples for practice, 

115, 116. 
How to Correct faulty pronunciation, 

73. 

How to learn to Spell phonetically, 75, 
76. 

How to master the long and short 

vowels, 78. 
Hunger and Sadness (facial expres- 
sion), 162. 
Illustration, gestures of, 146 ; examples 

for practice, 147. 
Impassioned Facial Expression, 159; 

examples for practice, 160—163. 
Impersonation, Note 1, 31. 
Importance of Articulation, 69, 
Importance of Elocution, in physical 

development, 21; in social Jife, 21; 

in business life, 22 ; in public life, 

22. 

Importance of Vocal Culture, 172. 

Impure Qualities of Voice, 63, 64, ex- 
amples, 64, 68. 

Index Finger (gesture), 158. 

Indignant Command (facial expres- 
sion;, 161. 

Influence of the human voice, 172. 

Instruction, methods of, 170. 

Instruction (primary and advanced), 
180, 184. 

Intense Thought (gesture), 156. 

Intermediate or Fifth a incorrectly 
sounded, 82. 

Italian a incorrectly sounded, 82. 

Jealousy [facial expression], 162. 

Joy [gesture], 156. 

Joyousness [facial expression], 160. 

Language of the Bible, [fruitful in 
meaning, hence difficult to read], 
189. 

Larynx, 37. 

Laughter, 189. 

Lines straight and curved, in arm 
movements, 1475 guiding principles, 
147; examples lor practice, 148. 

Location, gesture of, 146 ; Examples for 
practice, 147. 

Long and short vowels, (how to mas- 
ter them ) 78. 
Long Quantity, 127 ; examples for prac- 
tice, 128. 



Long u, incorrectly sounded, 83. 

Lower Limbs (guiding principles), 
157, 158. 

Low Pitch, 114 ; examples for practice, 
117. 

Lungs, 36, 37. 

Magnetic Connection of words, 185. 

Meaningless Gestures, 169. 

Medium Force, 118 ; examples for prac- 
tice, 119. 

Medium Pitch, 114. 

Medium Quantity, 127 ; examples for 
practice, 127. 

Medium Rate, 123; examoles for prac- 
tice, 123, 124. 

Mental Suffering [gesture], 156. 

Methods of Instruction, 170; theory 
of teaching, 170 ; importance, 172 ; 
faults, 175 ; outline of methods, 180 ; 
primary instruction, 180. 183; ad- 
vanced instruction, 183, 184. 

Middle Line of Direction, (arm move- 
ment) 148; examples for practiee,150; 
one hand supine, 150; both hands 
supine, 150 ; one hand prone, 153; 
both hands prone, 153 ; one hand 
vertical, 154; both hands vertical, 
155. 

Miscellaneous Exercises in gesture, 
163—168. 

Miscellaneous Suggestions for read- 
ing and speaking, 185, 186. 

Miscellaneous Vocal Exercises, 187, 
188. 

Modulation, 113. 

Monotony, how avoided, 122, 123. 

Movements of the Body, (head, arm, 
lower limbs,) 145, 146. 

My, [how pronounced], 102. 

Nature, a proper study for attitude and 
action, 168. 

Negative Language requires sustaine j 
voice or rising .slide, 132. 

Noise and physical violence distin- 
guished from force, 119. 

Objects to be attained in gesture, 169. 

Observation of Characters in paintinf 
and sculpture recommended for at 
titude and action, 168. 

Oratorical Gestures, 142. 

Orotund Voice, f0; examples, 61—63. 

Outline of Elocution and analysis o/ 

principles, 13 ; explanation, 19. 
Outline of Gesture, 141. 
Outline of methods of instruction, 180. 



INDEX. 



139 



Passive Position, 143 ; examples for 

practice, 144. 
Pause, 129. 

Pectoral, 64; examples in, 64, 65. 
Position [gesture], 156. 
Philosophy of Voice, 36. 

Phonetic Spelling, how to begin, 75, 
76. 

Physical Development as related to 
elocution, 21. 

Physical Exercise essential to vocal 
development, 38. 

Pitch, 113 ; not a volition of the reader 
or speaker, but a demand of the sen- 
timent, 113; how produced, 114; 
examples of medium, high and low, 
46. 

Pope's Rule applied to pronunciation) 
71. 

Position of Feet, 143. 

Position of Hand, supine, prone, ver- 
tical, 140; examples for practice, 
150, 156. 

Position, passive and active, 143. 

Positive Language requires downward 

slide, 131. 
Posture or Position, 143. 
Practical Hints upon a few voice 

souuds, 82, 83. 

Practice against inclination and nat- 
ural taste, 186. 

Practice frequently, but not when 
weary, 185. 

Prayer (gesture), 156. 

Preface, 9. 

Prefixes, bl, 94; prefix a, 91; bi, tri, 
chi, cli, cri, pri, 92; i and y in 
first syllables, 92; n in prefix con, 
92, 93'; o equivalent to short u, 93 ; 
prefix ex, 93; prefix dis, 93; s in- 
correctly sounded, 93; prefix with, 
94. 

Primarv Instruction, 180, 183. 
Principles, 35. 

Prone Hand, 149; examples for prac- 
tice, 154. 

Pronunciation, the standard of, 70. 

Public Address, as related to conver- 
sation, 32 ; guide to public address, 
33; models found in pure con- 
versation, 34. 

Public Life as related to Elocution, 22. 

Pure Qualities of Voice, 59, 60 ; exam- 
ples, 60, 62. 

Quality, 59; pure quality, 59, 60; ex- 
amples in simple pure quality, 60, 
61; in orotund, 61, 63; impure qual- 



ity, 63 ; pectoral, 64; guttural, 'A; 
aspirated, 64; falsetto, 67, 6,^ ; ex ma- 
ples in pectoral, 64 65. in gutfr ral, 
65, 66 ; in aspirated, 67 ; in fals ,tto, 
68. 

Quality of Voice, as an element of ex- 
pression, 113. 
Quantity, 127. 
Quick Preception and prompt and 

graceful changes of voice essential 

to correct expression, 113. 
Quintillian's estimate of the face as an 

ekment of expression, 159. 
R, sh and w, before long u, 83. 
Rapid Rate, 123 ; examples, 124. 
Pate, 123 ; examples of medium, fast 

and slow, 123-126. 
Reading as related to conversation, 30. 
Recreations in Articulation, 103, 111. 
Relative Emphasis of the leading and 

subordinate ideas in a sentence, 186. 
Remedy for faults of voice, &c, in the 

schoolroom, 177, 179. 
Repose, 169, 193, 194. 
Resignation (facial expression), 161. 
Respiration, 39 ; nostrils should be 

used, 39. 
Revenge (facial expression), 163. 
Reverence (facial expression), i60. 
Rhetorical Pause, 129 ; examples, 129, 

130. 
Rising Circumflex, 132. 
S and sh followed by long u, 102. 
Sadness (facial expression), 161. 
Scorn (facial expression), 162. 

Sculpture and Painting as a study for 
attitude, 1C8. 

Seat of the Accent, 89. 92 ; a syllable, 
89; monosyllable, dissyllable, trisyl- 
lable, polysyllable, 89; ultimate, pe- 
nult, antepenult, preantepenult, 89; 
words of two syllables, 89 ; of 
more than two syllables, 90 ; Eng- 
lish derivatives, 90; words from 
the Latin and Greeli. 90 ; from the 
French, 91; words used antitheti- 
cally ,91. 

Secrecy (facial expression ,161. 
Sentiro ant and characterization, 18.*'. 
Sh incorrectly sounded, 101. 
Shorf o incorrectly sounded, 82. 
Shor . Quantity, 127 ; examples, 128, 

/ 19. 
Simple Pure >oice, 59 , examples, 60, 

61. 



200 



INDEX. 



Slides, 131; upward, 131; downward. 
131 ; wave or circumflex, 132. 

Slow Rate, 123 ; examples, 125, 126. 

Social Life, as related to elocution, 21. 

Soul Power, of spoken language, 112. 

Sound to Sense, 191. 

Special Exercises in Gesture, 156-158. 

Speech, 35 ; speech and gesture the two 
great mediums of thought, 35 ; its 
subdivisions, 35. 

Standard of Pronunciation, 70. 

Straight and Curved Lines, arm move- 
ments, 147 ; guiding principles, 147 ; 
examples, 148. 

Subdued Force, 119; examples, 121, 
122. 

Subtonic and Aspirate Combinations, 
87, 88. 

Subtonic Combinations, 80-84. 

Supine Hand, 149 ; examples, 150. 

Sustained Force, examples, 51, 52. 

Swell, examples, 50, 51. 

Sympathy with the sentiment neces- 
sary to correct expression, 112. 

T in tie suppressed, 101. 

Table of Contents, 15. 
Table of Elementary Sounds, 81. 
Table of Vocal Exercises, 41; expla- 
nation of Uble, 42, 43. 

Terminations, 94,96; en, 94; el, 94; 

ed, 95; ine, 95; on, 96; il, 96; in, 

96; ain,96. 
Terror [facial expression], 163. 
Th, Vocal and Aspirate, 101. 
The Face a mirror of the emotions, 158. 
Theory of Teaching, 170-180. 
Time, 122; a demand of the sentiment, 

and not a caprice of the reader or 

speaker, 114. 

Time and Toil, 169. 
Trachea, 37. 



Transition, 168, 192. 

Tremor, examples, 52, 53. 

Triumph (facial expression), 162. 

Triumph (gesture), 156. 

Unaccented Vowels, 97-98 ; tendencies 
of long a, long e, short e, short a, Ital- 
ian a, intermediate a, long o, short 
e, coalescent ar, er, or, 98 ; Italian 
a followed by r, long oo, 99 ; caution 
in reference to "Worcester's mark, 
99. 

Unimpassioned Facial Expression, 

159 ; examples, 159, 160. 
Union Sounds, 81 
Utterance, 37, 38. 

Vertical Hand, 149; examples, 155. 
Vocal Cords, 36, 37. 
Vocal Culture, its importance, 172. 

Vocal Exercises, 40 ; table of, 41 ; ex- 
amples in Natural, 44 ; in full force, 
45 ; in high and low, 46, 47 ; in effu- 
sive, 47, 48 ; in expulsive, 49 ; in ex- 
plosive, 49, 50 ; in swell, 50, 51 ; in 
sustained force, 51, 52; in tremor, 
52, 53 ; in full breathing, 53. 

Voice, 35 ; philosophy of, 36 ; utterance 
37; development, 38; vocal exer- 
cises, with table and explanation, 
40—43. 

Voice Sounds, 81. 

Vowels, when not under the accent, 
97—99. 

Wave, 131. 

Wave of the Hand (gesture), 156. 

Webster or Worcester, 71. 

" What whim," &c, 77. 

Wonder (gesture), 158. 

Words for Spelling, 77, 84, 87, 99, 101. 

Words often mispronounced, 99-101. 

Wrapping Drapery (gesture), 157. 

Wringing Hands (gesture), 157. 



Vationalxchools j locution! ratory, 



Examination Papers 

Based upon the Course of Instruction for the Scholastic Year 
I879-8O. 



ELOCUTION. 

Outline of Elocution and Analysis of 
Principles. 

1. Produce from memory the outline of Elocution and analysis of 

Principles. 

2. Explain the outline showing the relation of the several topics. 

Definition. 

3. Define Elocution. 

4. What is understood by Natural, and from what should it be 

distinguished? 

5. What do you understand by Expression, as used in the definition? 

6. What is included in Thought, as here used ? 

7. What is included under Speech ? 

8. What is included under Gesture? 

9. Summarize the discussion of the definition. 

Importance. 

10. Discuss the importance of Elocution in Physical Development. 

11. Discuss the importance of Elocution in Social Life. 

12. Discuss the importance of Elocution in Business Life. 

13. Discuss the importance of Elocution in Public Life. 

Conversation . 

14. What relation does conversation sustain to human expression ? 

15. How is it related to public delivery ? 

16. Show the importance of correct habits of speech and manner in 

conversation. 

17. What is said of Conversation for its own sake? 

18. How should the student govern self-criticism in conversation? 

19. What may be termed the A B C of speech? 



ELOCUTION. 



20. What guiding principles are suggested to the student for conver- 

sational culture? 

21. Read three passages of conversational style, and show the 

individual peculiarities by v/hich they may be distinguished. 

22. Explain the Analogy between conversation and reading. 

23. Explain the Distinction between conversation and reading. 

24. Discuss Models for reading as found in conversation. 

25. What is said of the Analogy between conversation amd public 

address ? 

26. Name the chief Distinction between conversation and public 

address. 

27. Illustrate this distinction. 

28. Outline some general guide to public address, as based upon this 

definition. 

29. What relation do the members of the audience sustain to one- 

another and to the speaker, and to what fault are speakers 
liable in this regard ? 

30. Discuss Models for public address as found in conversation. 

31. Give General Summary of Conversation. 

Principles. 

32. What does the term Principles include as applied to Elocution ? 

33. What are the two grand divisions of expression of which princi- 

ples treat? 

34. Discuss Speech as a medium for conveying thought. 

35. Name the organs used in speech. 

36. What are its natural subdivisions? 

Voice. 

37. What relation does Voice bear to Speech ? 

38. Discuss the importance of voice culture as a requisite of effective 

expression. 

39. Upon what does the cultivation of the voice depend ? 

40. What basis for intelligent culture has scientific investigation 

afforded ? 

41. Does the voice ordinarily receive strength and culture from con- 

stant use ? 

42. Does it in this respect violate the common law of physical devel- 

opment ? 

43. Why does it not? 

44. Why should voice culture receive the first attention of the 

student of Elocution? 



ELOCUTION. 3 

45. How is Voice divided with reference to its culture? 

46. What is the relation of these subdivisions to the subject of Voice? 

Philosophy of Voice. 

47. What does Philosophy of Voice include? 

48. How is Voice produced? 

49. Mention the organs immediately concerned in its production. 

50. What is the relation of the lungs to the vocal system? 

61. Explain the correct use of the diaphragm and the abdominal 

muscles. 

62. Wbere are the vocal cords situated ? 

63. Describe their relative position and action in breathing and in 

voice production. 

Utterance. 

64. Name the parts of the Vocal System in the order of their use. 

65. How is Voice affected by the cavity of the mouth. 

56. What does Utterance imply ? 

57. What are its subdivisions? 

Development. 

68. Discuss the importance of voice development. 

69. How is it related to elocutionary culture? 

60. What is the distinctive aim of Voice development? 

61. Upon what does healthy and rapid voice development depend? 

62. What are the subdivisions of Development? 

Breathing. 

63. How is Breathing related to the whole subject of Expressive 

Culture? 

64. How is it related to Voice? 

65. State the order of treatment. 

66. Give a synopsis of the discussion under What we Breathe. 

67. Give a synopsis of the discussion under Why we Breathe. 

68. Give a synopsis of the discussion under How we Breathe. 

69. Enumerate Exercises in Breathing. 

70. Explain and illustrate Chest Breathing. 

71. Explain and illustrate Costal Breathing. 
, 72. Explain and illustrate Waist Breathing. 

73. Explain and illustrate Dorsal Breathing. 

74. Explain and illustrate Abdominal Breathing. 



4 ELOCUTION. 

75. Explain and illustrate Full Breathiug. 

76. Explain and illustrate Prolonged Breathing. 

77. Explain and illustrate Effusive Breathing. 

78. Explain and illustrate Expulsive Breathing. 

79. Explain and illustrate Explosive Breathing. 

80. What position should be observed in the Breathing Exercises ? 

81. What caution should be observed? 

Vocal Exercises. 

82. What is the Table of Vocal Exercises designed to represent? 

83. Are these forms arbitrary and unchangeable ? 

84. Illustrate and explain the above principle. 

85. To what end should these forms be practiced ? 

86. How shall the student know that he has secured the mastery of 

these forms ? 

87. How many forms of voice are contained in the Table ? 

88. Enumerate them in their order. 

89. Explain Natural, 

90. Explain the position and operation of the vocal organs in its 

production. 

81. What relation does Natural bear to the other forms of voice? 

9%. Why should great care be observed in its practice ? 

9®. What is the character of the thought expressed by the Natural ? 

94. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in Natural. 

85. Explain Full Force. 

96. Explain the position and operation of the vocal organs ia its 

production ? 

97. Of what class of sentiment is Full Force the expression. 

98. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in Full Force. 

99. W T hat is the object of high and low in the Chart of Vocal 

Exercises? 

100. Does it bear any specific relation to Pitch ? 

101 . What condition of mind is necessary to the proper expression of 

the sentiments of HIGH and LOW? 

102. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in high and LOW. 

103. Describe the Effusive tone of voice. 

104. Of what sentiments is the Effusive the expression. 

105. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in effusive. 

106. Explain the action of the vocal muscles in the production of 

Expulsive form. 



ELOCUTION. 5 

107. What are the characteristics of Expulsive sentiment? 

108. Illustrate and explain by reading exercisis in Expulsive. 

109. Describe the Swell. 

110. Of what kind of sentiment is the Swell the knguage. 

111. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in the Swell. 

112. Explain Sustained Force. 

113. What peculiarity of muscular action is necessary for its produc- 

tion. 

114. What relation does the thought of which it is the language bear 
9 to the form of voice? 

115. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises under Sustained Force. 

116. Explain Tremor. 

117. How is this form of voice associated with the sentiment it is em- 

ployed to express ? 

118. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in Tremor. 

119. Explain that form of voice denominated Full Breathing. 

120. Describe briefly the muscular action in the production of the 

Full Breathing vocal exercises. 

121. Of what kind of language is it the expression? 

122. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in Full Breathing. 

Gymnastics. 

123. What is said of Physical Exercises as a means of Vocal Devel- 

opment? 

124. What of Professional Life in regard to Physical Exercises? 

125. Would Manual Labor entirely supply this want? 

126. How did the ancients esteem such exercise? 

127. Explain and illustrate the first and second exercises of the first 

series. 

128. Explain and illustrate the third and fourth exercises of the first 

series. 

129. Explain and illustrate the fifth and sixth exercises of the first series. 

130. Explain and illustrate the seventh and eighth exercises of the first 

series. 

131. Explain and illustrate the ninth and tenth exercises of the first 

series. 

132. Explain and illustrate the first and second exercises of the second 

series. 

133. Explain and illustrate the third and fourth exercises of the second 



ELOCUTION. 



134. Explain and illustrate the fifth and sixth exercises of the second 

series. 

135. Explain and illustrate the seventh and eighth exercises of the second 

series. 

136. Explain and illustrate the ninth and tenth exercises of the second 

series. 

Quality. 

137. To what is due the wonderful variety of which the human voic e 

is capable. 

138. What does Quality mean when applied to voice ? 

139. What do the Qualities of voice constitute? 

140. How is Quality divided ? 

141. Give the reason for this subdivision. 

Puke Quality. 

142. Define Pure Quality. 

143. Describe the muscular action necessary for its production. 

144. What are its distinguishing peculiarities? 
146. Of what sentiment is it the expression ? 

146. How is Pure Voice subdivided? 

Simple Pure. 

147. Define Simple Pure. 

148. Discuss the harmony between the sentiment and the form of 

Simple Pure Voice? 

149. Of what great field of expression is this Voice the language. 

150. What is the relation of Simple Pure to the other Qualities of 

Voice ? 

151. Why is it the necessary starting-point of culture? 

152. What is the relation between Simple Pure Quality and Natural 

Form as represented in theTable of Vocal Exercises ? 

153. Describe the field of sentiment covered by Simple Pure Voice ? 

154. Illustrate and explain by exercises under Simple Pure. 

Orotund Voice. 

155. What is the analogy between Simple Pure and Orotund ? 

156. What is the difference between Simple Pure and Orotund ? 

157. How is this Voice fittingly described ? 

158. What two great essentials of perfect manhood unite in its produc- 

tion? 

159. Of what thought is Orotund Voice the expression? 



ELOCUTION. 7 

180. Illustrate and explain by exercises under Orotund. 
Impure Quality. 

161. What condition of mind does Impure Voice denote? 

162. What are the subdivisions of Impure Voice? 

163. Are the subdivisions the arbitrary creations of the teacher? 

164. Explain the physical relation between PASSION and tone. 

Pectoral Voice. 

165. Describe the physical peculiarities of Pectoral Voice. 

166. Of what class of sentiment is Pectoral Voice the Language ? 

167. Explain by reading exercises in Pectoral. 

Guttural Voice. 

168. Describe the physical peculiarities of Guttural Voice. 

169. Of what class of sentiment is Guttural Voice the language ? 

170. Explain by reading exercises in Guttural. 

Aspirated Voice. 

171. Describe the physical peculiarities of Aspirated Voice. 

172. Of what class of sentiment is Aspirated Voice the language? 

173. Explain by reading exercises in Aspirated. 

Falsetto Voice. 

174. Describe the physical peculiarities of Falsetto Voice. 

175. Of what class of sentiment is Falsetto Voice the language? 

176. Explain by reading exercises in Falsetto. 

Articulation. 

177. What is Articulation? 

178. What is Utterance? 

179. What are Elementary Sounds? 

180. What is a Syllable? 

181. What is a Word? 

182. What are the Organs of Speech ? 

183. What constitutes good Articulation ? 

184. What are the causes of imperfect Articulation ? 

185. What can you say of the importance of the study of Articulation? 

186. What is the distinction between Articulation and Pronunciation ? 

187. What is the standard of pronunciation ? 

188. Are Orthoepists agreed as to the proper pronunciation of all 

English words ? 



8 ELOCUTION. 

189. Are they agreed as to the character and number of the elementary 

sounds of the language ? 

190. Should American pronunciation conform to English pronuncia- 

tion? 

191. Is the pronunciation of London to be more highly regarded than 

that of Philadelphia, New York or Boston ? 

192. How far should we conform to local usage? 

193. What is Pope's rule in regard to the choice of words? 

194. How may we best grow accustomed to a new form of pronuncia- 

tion? 

195. How shall we proceed to study Phonics ? 

196. Recite clearly and sharply the "What whim" exercise. 

197. Recite the "Amidst the mists" exercise. 

198. Recite the ''Ceaseth, approacheth," exercise. 

199. Recite the long vowel sounds. 

200. Recite the short vowel sounds. 

201. What does Webster call the vowel sounds not included in the 

classes Long and Short ? 

202. What classification is made of the Elementary Sounds ? 

203. Upon what is this classification based ? 

204. Write the vowel sounds with Webster's marks of notation. 

205. Write the vowel sounds with Worcester's marks of notation. 

206. Write and name the diarectical points. Illustrate their use. 

207. Under what conditions is Italian a likely to be mispronounced, 

and give a few words as examples? 

208. What is the rule for the use of intermediate a? Name six words 

containing that sound. 

209. Under what conditions is short o likely to be mispronounced? 

Name six words as examples. 

210. Under what conditions is long u likely to be mispronounced? 

Name six words as examples. 

211. Under what circumstances does long u take the sound of long 

oof 

212. Name six words illustrating the difference between the coales- 

cents er and ur. 

213. To what sounds is the vowel of coalescent or most nearly related, 

and how is it distinguished from them ? 

214. How does the sound of the combination ur in the word furry 

differ from that in the word curry 'f Pronounce them so 
as to show the difference. 



ELOCUTION. 



215. What is the power of p in the word rapt and of k in the word 

acts? 

216. Utter correctly and with a moderate degree of speed the sentence, 

"He adds fourths, fifths, sixths, sevenths, eighths, ninths, 
tenths, elevenths and twelfths with skill." What are the 
difficulties in the sentence ? Which are the most difficult 
words, and why? 

217. What do you understand by "alphabetical equivalents"? Illustrate. 

218. What are cognates? Name three pairs of cognates. 

219. What are contrasts? Name three pairs of contrasts. 

220. Affix the long and short vowels and diphthongs, and combine 

the following in one exercise, placing the accent on the 
second syllable: w-v-v-w, v-w-w-v, th-th-th-th, th-th-th-th, 

221. Affix the long and short vowels and diphthongs, and combine the 

following in one exercise, placing the accent on the fourth 
syllable: b-d-p-t-p, w-v-f-v-w, th-th-s-sh-th, j-ch-gs-ks-k. 

222. Affix the long and short vowels and diphthongs, and combine the 

following in one exercise : sf-ksth-ksth, ksth-sf-ksth. 

223. Give the following with the long and short vowels and diphthongs : 

sfksth-ksthsf. 

224. Alternate three times : curb'stcurb'dst; mark'stmark'dst; search' st 

Sfearch'dst. 

225. Alternate three times : length'n'st, length'n'dst; troubl'st troubl'dst; 

hard'n'st, hard'n'dst. 

226. Alternate three times: driv'lst, driv'l'dst; reason' st, reas'n'dst; 

rippl'st, rippl'dst. 

227. Alternate three times: settl'st, settl'dst; buckl'st, buckl'dst; 

harp'st, harp'dst. 
228- What is a word of one syllable called? A word of two syllables? 
Of three syllables? Of four syllables? Of five syllables? 

229. What is the last syllable of a word called ? Next to the last? 

Third from the end ? fourth from the end ? 

230. Where do nouns of two syllables generally have the accent? Name 

three exceptions to this rule. 

231. Where do verbs of two syllables generally have the accent? 

Where do adjectives? Name three examples of each. 

232. Are nouns and verbs ever distinguished from each other by ac- 

cent? Give six examples. 

233. Are adjectives ever distinguished from verbs by a change of ac- 

cent? 

234. Where do words of more than two syllables generally have the 

primary accent? What does Walker say of this accent? 



io ELOCUTION. 

235. What can you say of words introduced into the English from the 

Latin and Greek with little or no change of Orthography? 

236. What can you say of words used antithetically ? Illustrate. 

237. What is the sound of initial a in such words as again, against, 

abaft ? 

238. What is the sound of final a in such words as Cuba, America, 

Algebra f 

239. What are the initial syllables which generally require i long? 

240. In what class of words does n take the sound of ng ? Name six 

examples. 

241. Name six words in which o takes the sound of short u. 

242. What is the sound of c, of a, and of x f 

243. What is Webster's list of words in which s of the prefix dis 

takes the z sound. 

244. How do Webster and Worcester compare in the number of words 

requiring dis, as a prefix, to be sounded like diz? 

245. Name three words in which s is frequently incorrectly sounded 

like z. 

246. What can you say of the th combination in the word with used 

as a prefix and suffix ? 

247. What is the rule for the en termination? What exception to this 

rule ? Why is women an exception ? 

248. What can you say of e in the adjective termination ed? 

249. Should we make a distinction between prose and poetry in the 

termination ed 

250. Pronounce amazedness and swift-winged, and give the rule 

for the ed. 

251. What can you say of ed following an aspirate sound? 

252. What is the usual sound of i in the INE and IDE termination of 

chemical terms ? 

253. What is the rule for ON terminations ? 

254. What is the rule for in terminations? 

255. What is the rule for ain terminations ? 

256. What vowels when unaccented tend toward short if 

257. What vowels when unaccented tend toward short u f 

258. Pronounce the first column of words — page ioo. 

259. Pronounce the second column of words of section two, lesson 15, 

page 101. 

260. Under what conditions is the letter b silent ? 



ELOCUTION. n 

261. In what class of words is the sound of sh often incorrectly used? 

262. What is the sound of T in the termination TLE following s ? 

Give six examples . 

263. Pronounce the plural of truth, youth, and breath. 

264. Pronounce +he plural of bath, lath, oath, swath. 

265. Pronounce the singular of booths. 

266. What is the rule for the pronunciation of A used as an article ? 

267. What is the pronunciation of THE used as an article ? 

268. How should Y be sounded in the pronoun my ? 

269. What can you say of the pronunciation of the conjunction and? 

270. How is the expression, "We shall miss you," frequently 

uttered ? 

271. Do the many irregularities of our language afford any excuse for 

carelessness in pronunciation and articulation? 

272. How many sounds are there in the English language ? 

273. Are all orthoepists agreed as to the number of sounds in the lan- 

guage? Is it of advantage to have many sounds? 

274. What can you say of the coalescent or ? How would you de- 

fine its use against any who opposed it ? 

[NOTE —All students are required to give the Table of Elementary 
Sounds, and to spell a number of words phonetically.] 

Expression. 

275. In what does true Expression consist? 

276. What is included in Elocutionary Expression? 

277. What does Expression pre-suppose? 

278. What is necessary to the proper comprehension of a sentiment ? 

279. What will naturally follow the proper comprehension of language ? 

280. How will comprehension and sympathy effect the expression ? 

281. W T hat is necessary beyond comprehension and sympathy in order 

to the proper expression of a thought? 

282. From what should true Expression be distinguished ? 

283. Name the three great essentials to effective speech. 

284. What do the several changes of voice necessary to Expression 

constitute ? 

Modulation. 

285. Define Modulation and name its subdivisions. 

Pitch. 

286. Define Pitch. 

287. State the principle upon which the changes of Pitch are founded. 



12 ELOCUTION. 

288. What organs are affected in producing the different degrees of 

Pitch, and how ? 

289. Explain the condition of the vocal cords in relation to different 

classes of sentiment. 

290. Name the natural divisions of Pitch growing out of these relations 

and the styles of language corresponding to each. 

291. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises of Medium Pitch. 

292. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in High Pitch. 

293. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in Low Pitch. 

Force. 

294. Define Force. 

295. State the principle upon which the changes of Force are founded. 

296. What organs are affected in the changes of Force, and how. 

297. From what should true Force be carefully distinguished ? 

298. What does true Force include? 

299. Against what common error is the student cautioned in regard to 

Force ? 

300. What general principle is illustrated in the study and practice of 

Force ? 

301. What are the natural divisions of Force. 

302. Give the styles of language corresponding to each. 

303. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in Medium Force. 

304. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in Full Force. 

305. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in Subdued Force. 

Time. 

306. Define Time. 

307. What is said of thought or sentiment in regard to Time ? 

308. Enumerate some faults in the application of Time. 

309. Give the subdivisions. 

Rate. 

310. Define Rate. 

311. Give the various styles of language as applied to the natural divi- 

sions of Rate. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises 
in Medium Rate. 

312. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in Rapid Rate. 

313. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in Slow Rate. 



ELOCUTION. 13 

314. Give the form of the combination exercise, and illustrate its use. 

Quantity. 

315. Define Quantity. 

316. How do the changes of Quantity affect the signification of words ? 

317. What are the subdivisions of Quantity? 

318. Name the styles of language corresponding to these subdivisions. 

319. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in Medium Quantity. 

320. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in Long Quantity. 

321. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises in Short Quantity. 

Pause. 

322. Define the Pause. 

323. What are the subdivisions? 

324. Explain the Grammatical Pause. 

325. Explain the Rhetorical Pause. 

326. Illustrate and explain by reading exercises under Pause. 

SUIDES. 

327. What is a Slide of the voice ? „ 

328. What is the Wave or Circumflex ? ' 

329. How does the Slide affect the other modulations ? 

330. How does the Slide affect the accuracy of speech ? Illustrate- 

331. What other element of effective speech does it contribute ? 

332. What relation does the Slide sustain to Expression ? 

333. What of the different degrees of the Slide? 

334. How are Slides divided ? 

335. Discuss the Conversational Slide. 

336. How is language divided with reference to the Emphatic Slide ? 

337. What does Positive language comprise, and why does it take the 

Downward Slide? 

338. What does Negative language comprise, and why does ii take the 

Upward Slide ? 

339. What other considerations should govern the reader in the use of 

the Slide ? 

340. What is the use of the Wave or Circumflex? 

341. Explain the Rising Circumflex. 

342. Explain the Falling Circumflex. 

343. Explain the diagram exercises in Slides. 



14 ELOCUTION. 

344. Illustrate by reading examples of the Conversational Slide. 

345. Illustrate by reading examples of the Emphatic Slide. 

346. Illustrate by reading examples of the Wave or Circumflex. 

Gesture. 

347. Define Gesture. 

348. What relation does Gesture sustain to Speech ? 

349. What is the source of all true art? 

350. What is said of rules in the application of Gesture? 

351. Produce and explain the outline of Gesture. 

352. Discuss Conversational Gesture. 

353. Discuss Oratorical Gesture. 

354. Discuss Dramatic Gesture. 

355. Read and explain the examples illustrating a combination of these 

divisions. 

Position. 

356. What is meant by Position as applied to Gesture ? 

357. What is necessary to a healthful and graceful carriage of the 

body? 

358. Name the two common forms which the body assumes in Position. 

359. What is said of the Passive Form ? 

360. What is said of the Active Form? 

361. What class of Sentiment is expressed by the Passive Position ? 

Illustrate the principle. 

362. What class of sentiment is expressed by the Active Position? 

Illustrate the Principle. 

Movements of the Body. 

363. What do the Movements of the Body comprise, and what general 

direction is given for their government ? 

364. Discuss Head Movements. 

365. What is the purpose of Arm Movements, and how shown? 

366. Give examples of location. 

367. Give examples of illustration. 

368. Give examples of- emphasis. 

369. What is said of Lines in Arm Movements? 

370. Give the guiding principles for Straight Lines and Curves. 



ELOCUTION. 15 

371. Illustrate by examples of each. 

372. Name and describe the different directions of the Arm Movements 

Position of the Hand. 

373. What is the relative importance of the Hand Position? 

374. Classify the Positions of the Hand. 

375. Explain the Supine Position. 

376. Explain the Hand Prone. 

377. Explain the Hand Vertical. 

378. What is said of Double Gestures ? 

379. Recite examples of Middle Lines — One Hand Supine. 

380. Recite examples of Middle Lines — Both Hands Supine. 

381. Recite examples of Ascending Lines — One Hand Supine. 

382. Recite examples of Ascending Lines — Both Hands Supine. 

383. Recite examples of Descending Lines — One Hand Supine. 

384. Recite examples of Descending Lines — Both Hands Supine. 

385. Recite examples of Middle Lines — One Hand Prone. 

386. Recite examples of Middle Li^s — Both Hands Prone. 

387. Recite examples of Ascending Lines — One Hand Prone. 

388. Recite examples of Ascending Lines — Both Hands Prone. 

389. Recite examples of Descending Lines — One Hand Prone. 

390. Recite examples of Descending Lines — Both Hands Prone. 

391. Recite examples of Middle Lines — One Hand Vertical. 

392. Recite examples of Middle Lines — Both Hands Vertical. 

393. Recite examples of Ascending Lines — One Hand Vertical. 

394. Recite examples of Ascending Lines — Both Hands Vertical. 

395. Name, explain and illustrate five miscellaneous positions of the 

Hand. 

396. What Guiding Principles are given for the Lower Limbs in Gesture? 

397. What is said of the Index Finger ? 

398. Recite examples illustrating the use of the Index Finger. 

Facial Expression. 

399. How is Facial Expression related to speech ? 

400. What is its relative importance ? 

401. Name and explain the divisions of Facial Expression. 

402. Give Guiding principles. 



1 6 ELOCUTION. 

403. Illustrate by reading examples under Unimpassioned. 

404. Name ten Varieties of Impassioned Facial Expression, and 

illustrate each variety. 

405. Recite, with appropriate gesture, two of the Miscellaneous 

Exercises. 

406. What is said of Transition in Gesture? 

407. Speak of the Climax. 

408. From what general sources may we derive benefit in the study of 

Gesture ? 

409. What is said of Repose of manner ? 

410. What general cautions should be observed in the study and 

practice of Gesture? 

411. What are the great objects to be attained, and how are they to 

be reached? 

Theory of Instruction. 

412. What does the work of the educator include ? 

413. Who is the educated man? 

414. For what is a man most esteemed? 

415. Through what other means than speech have men expressed 

themselves ? 

416. What is the sphere of the human voice in the world of expression? 

417. What is necessary in order to the highest results of speech? 

418. Name the subdivisions in the treatment of the subject. 

Importance. 

419. Upon what principle do we estimate the importance of any de- 

partment of education? 

420. Treat of the importance of Elocution upon the basis of physical 

health. 

421. Treat of the importance of Elocution in its relation to the social 

circle. 

422. Treat of the importance of Elocution in its relation to business. 

423. Treat of the importance of Elocution to a public career. 

424. What is said of the study of Elocution with reference to cleanli- 

ness, courtesy and morality ? 

Faults. 

425. What common Fault of the voice is first considered, and how may 

it be avoided ? 



ELOCUTION. 17 

426. What is said of the body of sound ? 

427. What evils result from neglect of the true source of vocal strength ? 

428. Consider some of the common faults of articulation. 

429. What does a distinct enunciation reflect upon the speaker? 

430. What is the duty of the teacher in regard to the preservation of 

a pure speech? 

431. Name some of the common faults of expression. 

432. What is the tendency of a healthy child in regard to expression? 

433. What is the result, in many cases, of the teacher's influence upon 

the child? 

434. What are the most common sources of a faulty gesture? 

435. Illustrate the tendency to awkwardness and unnatural manner. 

Remedy. 

436. Does the teacher possess a remedy for the common faults of 

speech? 

437. What is the great source of protection and correction in speech? 

438. What is said of the cultivation of the ear in correcting faults of 

speech? 

439. To what extent should the exercise of the elementary sounds 

enter into early practice? 

440. What is said of proper breathing as an element of a healthy 

voice and of pure speech? 

Outline of Methods. 

441. Produce and explain the Outline of Primary Instruction. 
442 Produce and explain the Outline of Advanced Instruction. 



Miscellaneous Suggestions. 

443. State and illustrate the first suggestion. 

444. State and illustrate the second suggestion. 

445. State and illustrate the third suggestion. 

446. State and illustrate the fourth suggestion. 



18 ELOCUTION. 

447. State and illustrate the fifth suggestion. 

448. State and illustrate the sixth suggestion. 

449. State and illustrate the seventh suggestion. 

Emphasis. 

450. Define Emphasis and name the processes employed. 

451. State the general principle for the government of Emphasis. 

452. What is said of grouping as related to Emphasis ? 

Miscellaneous Vocal Exercises. 

453. Recite the first Miscellaneous Vocal Exercise. 

454. Recite the second Miscellaneous Vocal Exercise. 

455. Recite the third Miscellaneous Vocal Exercise. 

456. Recite the fourth Miscellaneous Vocal Exercise. 

457. Recite the fifth Miscellaneous Vocal Exercise. 

458. Recite the sixth Miscellaneous Vocal Exercise. 

459. Recite the seventh Miscellaneous Vocal Exercise. 

460. Recite the eighth Miscellaneous Vocal Exercise. 

461. Recite the ninth Miscellaneous Vocal Exercise. 

462. Recite the tenth Miscellaneous Vocal Exercise. 

463. Recite the eleventh Miscellaneous Vocal Exercise. 

464. Recite the twelfth Miscellaneous Vocal Exercise. 

Laughter. 

465. What is said of Laughter as a physical exercise? 

466. How may it be practiced as an exercise ? 

Bible Reading. 

467. What is the distinguishing feature of the language of the Bible 

with reference to oral expression ? 

468. Consider the first common fault presented. 

469. Consider the second fault. 

470. Name other false styles of Bible reading. 

471. What is said of Professional Style? 

472. What is said of Inflated Style ? 

473. What is said of Pious Tone ? 

474. What is said of Trifling Style? 



ELOCUTION. 1 9 

476. What general principle is suggested in the reading of the Bible, 
as indicated by the language itself? 

Sound to Sense. 

476. What is said of the relation of Sound to Sense? 

477. Give examples. 

Transition. 

478. What is said of the importance of the proper attention to Transi- 

tion in tone and manner? 

479. What elements of expression may be found necessary in Transi- 

tion? 

Analysis. 

480. What is necessary to the clear comprehension of a discourse or a 

sentence? 

481. Present the outline of analysis with reference to the sentiment- 

482. What would be the effect of a careful analysis of the sentiment ? 

483. What general analysis is suggested in reference to the expression 

of the sentiment? 

484. What will be the effect of such analysis upon the expression ? 

[NOTE— Students should analyze, according to the above princi- 
ples, all the selections of the senior term.] 

Repose. 

485. Whence do we obtain our highest conception of Repose? 

486. What is the true aim of all art ? 

487. What is necessary to the highest skill in art ? 

488. What should be the first possession of the orator? 

489. Of what is Repose the emblem ? 



— °<=><^yy<C finis. >og-9o.— 



POPULAR READINGS AND RECiTATiONS, 




BY J. W. SHOEMAKER, A. M., 

PRINCIPAL OP THE NATIONAL SCHOOL OF ELOCUTION AND ORATORY. 

The Elocutionist's Annual has been prepared to supply a growing 
demand for a fresh, cheap book of Selections, Dialogues, Tableaux, &c, 
and the price has been placed so low that it is within the reach of all. 
Each book contains nearly 200 large 1 2mo. pages on heavy, strong 
paper, in clear, open-faced type, easy to read, and comprises pieces 
suitable for ft^fThe Holidays, School Exhibitions, Lyceums and 
Literary Societies, Anniversaries, Church and Sunday School 
Gatherings, Educational, Temperance, and Political Meetings, 
and a large and varied list of selections for Public and Professional 
Entertainments. 

NUMBERS I, 2, 3, 4, 5, an d 6, NOW BEADYI 

THEY ARE PRONOUNCED 

The Best, Cheapest, and most Popular Collections of Readings* 
Declamations, Dialogues, Tableaux, &c, ever published. 

Prices, post-paid : Paper edition, 35 cents ; Cloth edition, 75 cents; 
Green and Gold edition, $1 .00. A liberal discount macL «vhen ordered 
by the dozen or hundred. 

J. W. SHOEMAKER & CO., Publishers, 

141 8 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 
No. 7 WILL BE HEADY JULY 1st, 1S79. 



ILOCBTIONART ©HARTS. 

BY J. W. SHOEMAKER, A.M., 
President of the National School of Elocution and Oratory. 



At the request of a large number of students, we have prepared and published 
for public use the Charts of the National School of Elocution and Okatory, 
thus affording to teachers the benefit of our long exp^'.nce and ripest thought in 
the analysis of this important department of culture, ^s well as in the selection and 
arrangement of exercises for the natural and healthy development of the voice. 

No. 1 is a large wall chart 60x72 inches, handsomely engraved and mounted, 
entitled 

OUTLINE OF ELOCUTION 

AND 

Analysis off Firlxicl^les. 

The arrangement of this Chart is striking and suggestive, and presents a clear and 
practical analysis of the whole subject. Beginning with the Definition of Elocu- 
tion, it proceeds to treat of its Importance, of Conversation as its basis, of Prin- 
ciples, and of Methods of Instruction. The outline of these topics, with their 
natural subdivisions, will enable the teacher to proceed systematically with t' 
work of instruction, and will at the same time assist the student to an intelligent 
comprehension of the subject. It suggests the necessity of voice culture, and of 
cureful drill in the Elements of Speech as indispensable to the art of expression. 
No. 2 is a wall chart 32 x 44 inches, entitled 

TABLE OF VOCAL EXERCISES, 

presenting in outline the system of voice culture employed by the National 
School of Elocution and Oratory, and will be found of very great practical 
value to teachers or students, and to all interested in this important field of Art. 

"Voice culture is universally recognized as one of the fundamental requisites of 
effective Elocution, and our broad experience in this department of teaching war- 
rants us in the belief that by careful training and judicious exercise, this desira- 
ble accomplishment may be acquired by all. The distinctive aims of this Chart 
are to secure Purity, Power, Flexibility and Character of tone. Beginning 
with the long vowel sounds, Natukai. or Conversational, it proceeds to the sys- 
tematic cultivation of the voice, in response to the whole field of sentiment and 
passion. Then by a carefully arranged set of sentences these principles are im- 
mediately applied to expression, thus securing to the student such facility in their 
use as will enable him to apply them either in Conversation, in Reading, or in 
Public Address. 

These Charts were but recently offered to the public, and have already been 
used with marked success in many institutions of learning. Their peculiar adap- 
tation to public instruction should secure for them a place in every school room 
In the country. 

PBIOES. 

Outline of Elocution and Analysis of Principles, - - $8.00 
Table of Vocal Exercises, 2.00 

Teachers will be allowed a discount of 25 per cent, on individual orders. 
Special discount by the quantity. 

J. W. SHOEMAKER & CO., Publishers, 

1418 CHESTNUT ST., PHILADELPHIA. 



HUMOR-PA THOS^ELOQUENGE 
jfEBT THINGS 

FROM 

f EST AUTHORS 

Hos. 1 and 2. 

DESIGNED FOE PUBLIC AND SOCIAL ENTERTAINMENT, 

AND FOR USE IN 

SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 



EDITED BY 

J. W. SHOEMAKER, A. M., 

President of the National School of Elocution and Oratory. 

Volume No. 1 consists of Numbers One, Two, and 
Three, and Volume No. 2 of Pour, Five, and Six, of The 
Elocutionist's Annual. They comprise the latest and best 
productions of the most popular English and American 
"Writers of To-day, together with the choicest selections 
of Standard Literature adapted to Beading in Public and 
Private. They contain nearly 600 large 12mo. pages each, on 
excellent paper, in clear, open-faced type, easy to read, 
substantially bound, and are so arranged with Indexes of Se- 
lections, Authors, etc., as to make them not only the most 
valuable collections of Choice Headings ever published, but 
the most complete as books of Ready Reference. 

EETAIL PRICES, PER VOLUME, POST-PAID. 

Cloth edition, $1.50; Green and Gold edition, $2.00; Turkey 
Morocco edition, $2.50. Liberal discount on large orders. To 
Schools, Colleges, etc., a special discount will be made upon the 
first supply. 



v>4*L 9 

An Oration by Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, delivered before the 
National School of Elocution and Oratory, May 29th, 1876. Large, 
clear type, paper binding, 15 cents ; limp cloth, with fac-simile 
of author's signature, 25 cents. 



The above publications sent, post-paid, on receipt of price. 
Liberal discount by the quantity. 

J. W. SHOEMAKER & CO., Publishers, 

No. 1418 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 



NATIONAL SCHOOL 

OF 

ELOCUTION^rQRATORY 

! Nos. 1416 & 1418 Chestnut Street, 

PHILADELPHIA. 

J. W. SHOEMAKER, A. M., President. 

t 
.. . 

PRIVATE AND CLASS INSTRUCTION. 



Beginning with Conversation as the gift of nature, it is our first and 
t.ighest aim to secure the habit of chaste and elegant speech. A pure, 
full voice, correct and distinct enunciation, natural and forcible expres- 
sion, are regarded essential elements of impressive conversation. These 
principles applied to reading render it simple and natural, and free from 
monotony and excess. 

A careful system of vocal training will tend, not only to the healthful 
preservation of the powers of the voice, but will often discover to the 
student capabilities of which he was before unconscious. 

The course also includes Lectures upon Methods of Teaching and 
Public Address, with abundant and varied practice in Reading and 
Recitation. 



Chartered, March, 1875. 



BOARD OP TRUSTEES. 

Bishop MATTHEW SIMPSON, Ex-Gov. JAMES POLLOCK, 

PETER B. SIMONS, D. NEWLIN FELL, 

WILLIAM M. CLARK, JOHN WANAMAKER, 

WILLIAM H ALLEN, LL. J>., A. G. B. HINKLE, M. D., 

WILLIAM BUCKNELL, WILLIAM G. CROWELL. 

JOHN H. BECHTEL, J. W. SHOEMAKER, A. M. 



V 



